


RWBYFall

by Winter1112



Category: RWBY, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), Titanfall (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Summer Rose (RWBY) Lives, Taiyang is who vanished, Titans on Remnant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27282118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winter1112/pseuds/Winter1112
Summary: The Colonial Militia has been defeated. On the run, and out of options, the last of the free Titans accepted their fate when Marder destroyed them with the Fold Device while they defended their only chance to survive and be restored. However, they weren't expecting to wake up on Remnant, a curious Summer Rose and Raven Branwen digging them out of the cavern they found themselves in. What will happen when Mama, a Legion Prime, and Summer Rose join forces on a hunt that will change both their destinies?
Relationships: Jack Cooper (Titanfall)/Keiko Ayano|Silica, Pyrrha Nikos/Nora Valkyrie, Raven Branwen/Summer Rose, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 13
Kudos: 23





	1. Big Mama and the Silver Eyed Huntress

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya everyone! Win here with something new and a bit different. This is my first real crossover, and needless to say I'm definitely nervous about it. I hope everyone enjoys, and hopefully I'll have the next chapter of Wolf Queen ready by next Friday!

"Mama?" A little girl's voice calls out softly as servos are heard whiring into motion.

_ "I'm right here, Monkey."  _ A surprisingly pleasant, if slightly robotic contralto replies.  _ "But who the fuck turned off the lights?" _

"I dunno, and where are we?" The little girl asks as a flashlight begins to shine in the chamber. But the weak light isn't sufficient to illuminate much more than the area around it, revealing a rock covered floor as well as a pair of giant metal legs. "At least your legs are there this time, Mama."

_ "Thank the Creator for that one." _ The mechanical voice replies as a glowing optic begins to sweep around.  _ " _ I _ got no idea, kiddo. This is all new to me. Hell, my sensors are even screaming that there's all sorts of new metals around us in minute quantities, along with some really weird crystal formations." _

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A woman's muffled voice calls out.

_ "Monkey, swap to my thermal imaging. Maybe it can make a dent."  _ The voice orders quietly as it ignores the question.

"Okie dokie." The girl replies as a trio of screens appear in front of her. "Not much. The only heat signature other than your's is coming from a cave in about twenty yards north-northwest, and the TMM behind us."

"Raven! Give me a hand! I swear I can hear someone talking in here!" 

"My, what big ears you have grandma." A second woman's voice replies teasingly as the Titan and her pilot hear the sounds of rocks and gravel moving.

"Har har. Shut up and dig."

"Mama, I don't think we're under the barn by my old house anymore." The girl calls out, a hint of fear creeping into her voice. 

_ "Stay calm Monkey. Get ready to hit my floodlights, ok?" _ Mama orders calmly as more servo and hydraulic noises fill the air. 

"I can hear you! Hold on! We'll have you dug out soon!" The woman calls out once more as the sounds of metal against stone begins to fill the air, the rocks beginning to fall inside the cavern now.

"Hey! Watch it Sum! That's a scythe, not a fucking pick axe!" The woman identified as Raven calls out.

"Just keep digging! One's a child! I just know it!"

"Ok, ok! Goddess, but never mess with a faunus woman's maternal instincts!"

_ "Hit em. Let's see where we are and if we have enough room for a brawl, Monkey."  _ Mama orders as more and more light starts to filter into the rocky chamber.

"Okie dokie Mama!" The girl chirps as she flips a pair of switches. A pair of bright lights turns on and are swept slowly across the rubble strewn chamber, revealing the source of all the mechanical noises to be a twenty two foot tall black and red war machine that is slowly standing up. The machine itself is badly damaged, as if it has seen heavy combat recently. It's pilot's compartment also stands open, a little blonde haired girl who looks to be about ten sitting in the pilot's chair in a child's sized pilot's outfit. Behind them is a large black rectangular shape. A steadily flashing green light is the only indication that it is something man-made.

_ "Shut em off, Monkey. We're back against the wall again." _

"What else is new lately?" She replies bitterly as she flips the switches once more, shutting the flood lights off. But the darkness is pierced by an extremely bright lantern being held inside a moment later.

"Ahhhh! Too bright! Too bright!" The girl shrieks.

_ "Hey, that's kinda bright. You mind?" _ The machine calls out as it moves a giant hand to block the screaming girl.

"Oops! Sorry!" The woman's voice calls out as she dims the light. "Better?"

_ "Much. This really doesn't look like any fucking cave I've ever been in." _ The robot calls out as it moves it's sophisticated optic around.  _ "How the fuck did we end up here anyway, Monkey?" _

"I dunno. All I remember was Danny telling us to grab the TMM and to run for shelter. We ran into those two Ronins and that Scorch on the way." The blonde girl replies calmly as she once again flips the switches to reactivate the machine's own lights. "I don't see your predator cannon."

_ "It's on my back."  _ The mech replies calmly. " _ Oh shit, Jenna!" _ The machine turns on its feet slowly while looking around.  _ "Jenna! Answer me baby!" _

A second, shorter war machine painted in white and chocolate brown groans as it appears from the other side of the rectangular object.  _ "Stop yelling Mom. I'm right here. Danny didn't make it though, I think that dick Gabriel got him."  _ The one named Jenna calls out sadly.  _ "Bastard tried to rodeo me, but Danny tackled him." _

_ "Oh shit, Marder sent his favorite lap dog to the surface?"  _ The one called Mama asks as she helps the second one to her feet.  _ "Sorry about Danny, Jenna. Gonna miss that ukulele playing Hawaiian." _

"I know I caught Duke's IFF. But I don't think I saw Dutchess's." The girl informs them calmly. 

_ "Thank the Creator that he didn't send both his monsters!"  _ Jenna declares in surprise as she leans over.  _ "You ok sis?" _

"I'm fine Jen." She chirps back. "Mama, we got company." 

"Excuse me? Ummm, may I ask what's going on here?" A woman wearing a white cloak and gorgeous quicksilver eyes asks as she appears before the two Titans and the girl. She is joined by a taller woman with piercing red eyes and what appears to be a weapon case of some kind held in her left hand. Turning back to look at them fully, Mama studies them for a moment, while shielding the girl with both her hands. The woman in the white cloak is a bit shorter than she expected considering the strength of her voice, but according to her sensors she has a weird mix of human and animal DNA. The other woman however registers as completely human though, and both of them are heavily armed. 

And according to her sensors, they both have shields up, but no shield emitters. Huh.

_ "Monkey, put your helmet on and close up." _ The machine named Mama orders the little blonde girl quietly, who does so without questioning why.  _ "Depends on who wants to know?"  _ She replies to the woman, who nods in understanding.

"My name is Summer Rose-Branwen, and this is my wife Raven." The reddish black haired woman introduces them both, the taller red eyed woman nodding in silent greeting. "We were on patrol when some of the village kids came running to find us. They said they saw a bright flash in here before the mouth of the cavern collapsed." She informs them.

"Technically, it was our kids that came running." Raven reminds her with a smirk. "Don't let me forget to ground them for being so far out."

"Hush Birdie. Listen, I'm not going to pretend to not get into your business, but neither of us would ever harm a child." Summer informs Mama calmly. "We have two daughters of our own." 

Mama's core nods as she moves her hands away from her torso, her pilot's compartment staying closed for now.  _ "I'm BLP-1124, and this is my daughter, JEC-9718. But you can call me Mama and her Jenna." _

_ "Hey!"  _ Jenna waves brightly.  _ "Nice to meet you strange animal woman and her wife who has a bird's name!" _

"Ummm, what exactly are you two?" Summer asks as she looks at them curiously while ignoring the animal woman greeting. 

Raven nods in agreement. "Cause you two sure as hell don't look like anything Atlas has. Trust me, Jimmy would be showing you guys off twenty four seven if he did."

_ "We're Titans!"  _ Jenna declares proudly before Mama can tell her to hush.  _ "To be specific, I'm a Tone Prime, and Mom's a Legion Prime." _

Mama nods.  _ "And you two have no idea what we're talking about, do you?"  _ She asks resignedly.

"Not a clue." Summer admits as Raven nods in her own agreement.

"Wow! Giant robots!" A little reddish black haired girl suddenly cries out as she appears at the mouth of the cavern. "But they don't look Altesian!" She adds as she tilts her head to one side. "Weiss and Willow would have sent me pictures of them already."

"Rubes, wait! Mom and Mum told us to wait in the village!" An older blonde girl admonishes her as she appears next. Her long hair is done up in pigtails, and she is panting heavily as she looks around. Spotting her mothers, she grimaces. "Oops."

Summer sighs as she looks at them both. "Ruby! Yang! What are you doing here?"

"You were taking too long mommy, so I got worried!" The girl named Ruby replies as she pokes her fingers together. Mama spots the rather adorable looking rabbit ears on top of her head, as well as her strong resemblance to Summer and Raven both and realizes that not only is this animal DNA present in Summer, but that she's their natural child.

"Sorry mom, I couldn't keep up with her." The girl named Yang apologizes as she rubs the back of her head. Mama takes note of the resemblance the girl has to Raven, and runs a quick comparison with her and Summer next, arriving to the conclusion that this Yang girl is in fact Raven's daughter and not Summer's. But, since she does claim her as her's without argument from her biological mother, then the Titan's respect for them both has just climbed exponentially. 

"Mama, can I come out now? I need to pee!"

_ "Yeah, come on out Monkey." _ The Titan replies with a chuckle.  _ "If they were gonna pull something, they would have by now." _

The compartment reopens and the girl leaps out, assisted by a pair of jets on both her sides as well as her back. Looking around desperately, she starts to whimper as she hops in place. "Gotta go!"

"Birdie, stay." Summer orders as she holds a hand out to the girl. "Come on, I'll take you."

"Thank you!" She replies as she takes the older woman's hand and all but yanks her out of the cavern and outside.

"Putting some trust in us?" The dark haired woman asks calmly as Ruby and Yang vanish with Summer.

_ "Considering the shitty day we've had, I'm willing to take a few things on faith right now." _ The Titan replies as she leans against the rectangular object.  _ "Especially since I get the feeling we aren't on MSHM-03 anymore." _

"Nope. This is Remnant." Raven confirms as if this is perfectly normal for her. "Specifically, we're roughly five miles from a village my wife and I are contracted to protect right now."

_ "Remnant? It's not on any of my charts, Mom."  _ Jenna calls out.

_ "I know, Jenna."  _ The Titan replies tiredly.  _ "I think Marder made good on his threat to destroy the planet with that damned fold device if we didn't hand the TMM over." _

Summer returns at that point, looking absolutely furious as the three girls follow behind her while chatting excitedly. "Why is a ten year old girl every bit as heavily armed as I am?! Even my own children aren't allowed to carry weapons, and this area is extremely dangerous!"

Mama sighs as she shakes her optics, her core dimming a bit.  _ "Cause the three of us have been on the run for a few years now. There used to be six of us Titans, along with Danny and Monkey, but we lost a few." _

Summer looks to be ready to protest again when the girl tugs on her white cloak. "Please don't be mad at Mama. If it wasn't for her and the others, I would be dead and my Daddy's TMM would be in the IMC's hands."

Summer sighs as she leans over. "What's your name cutey?" She asks as she puts her best mom smile on her face.

"Sarah Bogard, ma'am." She replies excitedly with a wide gap toothed smile. "I'm Mama's pilot!"

Raven looks at the Legion Prime with a raised eyebrow. "Your pilot?"

_ "It's a bit of a story. Look, Sarah needs a bath and real food, not the MREs she's been having to eat for a couple of weeks now."  _ Mama informs them.  _ "If you guys can help me out there, I'll tell you what's going on, deal?" _

Raven nods. "Deal. Follow us." She replies as she gathers Ruby into her arms with a smile.

"Woo hoo! Real food!" Sarah cheers as she puts her helmet on and leaps back inside of Mama, who chuckles.

_ "Yeah, real food Monkey. And hopefully someplace me and Jenna can recharge. I'm on my last fuel cell."  _ She reassures the girl as her pilot's compartment closes behind her.

_ "Saaaaaaame!" _ The Tone Prime cheers as well.  _ "Wait, what about the TMM? And the others?" _

"I still have all their cores in my satchel." Sarah whispers sadly. "I never got a chance to move them."

_ "Leave it. I got a feeling there's no IMC to worry about around here." _ Mama adds as she begins to move forward while taking her predator cannon off her back as she follows the Branwens.  _ "Besides, did you not see the fact that Ruby has rabbit ears?" _

"So does her mommy! She showed me when I asked about them!" Sarah informs the two war machines. "She said she and Ruby are Faunus. Can I be a Faunus?"

_ "I don't think that's how it works, Sarah." _ Jenna giggles as she reloads her tracker cannon while also extending her missile racks out.  _ "I'm five by five, mom!" _

_ "It's Monkey, give her an hour and she'll figure it out." _ Mama chuckles as she reloads her own Predator Cannon and test spins the barrels.  _ "Monkey, how are my missiles looking?" _

"Two full racks left!" She chirps brightly as she grips the Titan's controls, taking direct control of the multiton war machine expertly. "Radar's clear too."

_ "Core on a swivel, Jenna. Your little sister is still precious cargo till we figure all this out." _

_ "Solid copy!" _

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Summer Rose-Branwen smiles as she watches Ruby and Yang chat up a storm with Sarah, who's a bright and surprisingly happy little girl considering she's a child soldier.

She's not amused about that.

The blonde girl is now wearing one of Raven's old button up blouses she uses around the house, along with a pair of shorts that are still a bit too big for Yang. Her short, once dirty blonde hair is now a vivid golden yellow and her skin scrubbed clean to reveal her pale skin. And Goddess but can she eat! She ate as much as Ruby, Yang and Raven combined, and was still looking for more!

But now that she's held up her end of the bargain, it's time for the two machines to hold up theirs. Marching out to them, she approaches where they are busy talking to the village's engineer about how to recharge their power cells.

"Excuse me!" Summer calls out as she stands in front of the one called Mama. "I believe you owe me an explanation about why a child is trained to fight."

Mama looks at her and nods before looking back at the man helping them.  _ "Keep working on Jenna. My last cell is still almost fully charged. Her's is about dry." _

"Yes ma'am. Again, you don't mind if I try to convert this one to use our own native power source, correct?" He asks as he holds up one of her power cells.

_ "Go for it, I got a spare in the TMM."  _ She replies before looking at Summer.  _ "Yeah, I need to explain a few things."  _

"Yes, you do. She's only ten!"

_ "And has been my responsibility since she was six."  _ Mama adds as she settles down on a nearby boulder, ignoring the protests of an older man, who stupidly kicks her and howls in pain while holding his foot.  _ "She's my youngest, my little grease monkey, and I'm ready to die to keep her safe." _ She informs Summer seriously.  _ "Me and Jenna are all the family she's got left now, and as much as I hated letting Jenna's old pilot teach her the basics, there wasn't much of a choice. She had to be able to defend herself if I wasn't there anymore to do it for her. Hell, she took to piloting me, Jenna, and one of our fallen named Frost like a natural." _

"Spoken like a true mother." Summer admits as she smiles. "But it still doesn't explain anything either." She points out.

_ "Oh yeah, you got a point. Ok then, let me start at the beginning."  _ The massive Legion looks at Summer directly with her core, the huntress watching in fascination as it focuses on her. _ "Sarah's father, Terry Bogard, was a brilliant inventor who designed a hell of a lot of stuff for the colonial militia. From combat armor, to weapons, to even a brand new type of Titan, the man was a mechanical genius. But his masterpiece creation was a portable machine to repair us Militia Titans in combat zones called the Titan Mobile Maintenance, or TMM."  _ She explains.  _ "But since he was developing it for the Colonial Militia, and not the IMC, that really pissed them off when they found out. But especially a guy named Marder. He couldn't handle the fact that we had a genius on our side." _

Summer nods. "They came to try to take it?" She asks, getting an answering nod in return.

_ "They did. The primary invasion wave hit us on Monkey's sixth birthday, which was also the day her oldest brother was getting married to my former pilot. She… she got killed and I got ripped apart stalling so Sarah's family could get away. Creator, but I'll never forget Monkey screaming as one of her brothers carried her away to the shelters."  _ the armored war machine sighs.  _ "Like with Embers and Jenna, I took to Monkey really fast. She was so damned curious about me and how I worked and everything, especially since her mom was gone with the Marauder Corps and her Dad was always busy. So Zoie and I, we both fell in love with that little blonde grease monkey, and Zoie fell head over heels in love with her oldest brother." _

Summer giggles. "I know how that is. Ruby's inherited my father's love for gadgets and gizmos too. Me and my mom could never understand him when he started to talk in geek."

_ "Yeah, I miss Zoie. You two would have gotten along. But anyway, Marder, that jerkoff general I mentioned before, sent a ton of troops to MSHM-03 to find the TMM, which Terry had hidden away in a really safe place, while the rest of the planet's troops and militia members organized a counter offensive."  _ The Legion continues.  _ "They even patched me back up enough to get back into the fighting, which was great for the Militia, but not for Marder's troops. When he found out that not only were we still not cooperating, but were starting to force his troops back off the planet, he released an artificial designed plague on the planet. It killed everyone, IMC and Militia alike except for one person." _

"How did Sarah survive?" The huntress asks as calmly as possible, while she does her best to control her horror at the information the Titan is sharing with her. 

_ "For some reason, it mutated inside of her. Dunno why, and neither did all the eggheads back on Harmony."  _ She replies heavily.  _ "I was terrified of finding her like everyone else, puking her little guts out literally, but instead she was begging her brother to not die. It broke my heart, so I did the only thing I could do, and got her away and to safety along with the only other Militia Titan to survive all the fighting, a Ronin named Shadow." _

"Oh goddess." Summer whispers as she covers her mouth with her hands, her ears flopping down to lay flat on her head. "That poor baby, she's so lucky to have you."

Mama's core nods sadly.  _ "Been Monkey's mom ever since, and my girls, Shadow, Ranger, Frost and I did our best to keep her safe and happy, especially after I was informed that her birth mother…" _

"What about her birth mother?" Summer asks quietly, already dreading the answer.

_ "Killed in action trying to stop the IMC from perfecting an alien device they were trying to weaponize." _ She replies sadly.  _ "They succeeded, then destroyed the capital of the Colonial Militia with it not even a week later. Millions were killed faster than you can blink. But before that happened, the six of us decided to flee with Sarah, to keep her out of their clutches." _

"I see." Summer sighs at the news. "You said there were six of you total? What happened to the others?"

_ "Destroyed one by one while we stayed on the run. Lucky for them though, we managed to save their cores. Once we find a safe place to set up, we can maybe build them some brand new chassis with the TMM, not really sure though."  _ She replies.  _ "But Jenna did lose her pilot, who was the one I told you ended up training Sarah because we had no other choice. The IMC was rounding up all the remaining Militia members and executing them publicly. And since Monkey was with us…" _

"She would have been executed as well." Summer finishes as she shakes her head. "That's absolutely monstrous."

_ "Exactly. So we ended up going back to MSHM-03 to find the TMM and destroy it before it could be found. But that bastard Marder decided to just blow the planet up instead of bothering to try to take it from us. Thank the Creator that the planet was all but abandoned by then." _

"So then how did you end up here?" The huntress asks curiously.

_ "Beats the fuck out of me. All I know is one second Jenna and I have our backs to the TMM, both of us and Sarah ready to die fighting against Gabriel and a Merc named Blisk who been hired to help in the IMC's search, the next second I'm coming back online in that cave." _ Mama replies.  _ "Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond grateful that Monkey's alive. Hell, I'm grateful you guys found us too! Just my weird shit-o-meter is pegged out right now." _

Summer giggles as she nods. "Well, I can understand and respect your decision then. She was trained out of necessity, not because you wanted to take away her childhood. But still, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm physically standing in front of you, I would definitely be thinking bullshit."

_ "You have no idea, sister. I'm just glad she's adjusting so well. Normally, she'd be freaking out, cause she can't handle change too well. But the last two years have been really rough for her period."  _ Mama sighs.  _ "Been over a year since she's even had another kid her age to even play with. _ " The machine pauses for a moment, her core dimming before brightening again. _ "Yeah, it was around that time Frost, Jenna, and I were doing some merc work for the natives of a desert planet named Kharack. Taught Monkey a whole hell of a lot about their technology while we were busy dealing with their short tempered Gaalsien neighbors." _

Summer nods as she looks back at the three girls, who are chatting as they play with the small stockpile of dolls and other toys they take with them from village to village. "My two have gotten good at making friends pretty quickly. My wife and I have to move around alot for our work, and we have to bring them with us now, ever since my mom died of cancer two years ago." She pauses as she bites her lip. "Especially since neither of us trust her brother either." She adds quietly.

_ "What kind of work?" _ The Titan asks as she pats the giant gatling gun beside her, while choosing to ignore the last part about Raven's brother.  _ "If it's ass kicking, I'm definitely your girl." _

Summer grins. "As a matter of fact…" the huntress goes on to explain to the Titan her work as a huntress for hire, the Grimm, as well as why she and her beloved Birdie travel from place to place, defending villages mostly, while taking on local hunts as well.

Mama listens quietly, even as she silently starts looking for any and all information on these Grimm on any open local networks. To her surprise, she hit a jackpot on Summer's own comm device, and soon has gigs worth of intel. More than enough to help her reach a decision.  _ "Summer, I got a proposal for you." _ The Titan declares as she begins downloading local maps, regional maps, as well as political and sociological information next, all while hoping the rabbit woman has a robust data plan.  _ "My monkey needs friends, hell a family again. Jenna and I, we need repairs and a way to recharge ourselves as well as a place to call home. So, Jenna and I give you and Raven a hand with these Grimm, and in exchange we make some of this lien stuff as well."  _ She offers.

Summer looks thoughtful. "We have been straining ourselves lately." She admits. "And there's a nasty Wyvern not far from here that we aren't sure if we can take on ourselves, but the village can't afford more huntsmen either." The rabbit faunus admits to the Legion Prime. "Honestly, Birdie and I are starting to worry that we may have bitten off more than we can chew."

_ "Sounds to me like we could both stand to benefit from all this then." _ Mama chuckles.  _ "Look, my girl and I are built for combat on any kind of fucking terrain you can throw at us, even deep space. Once the TMM is set up and Sarah figures out how it works, we can hopefully rebuild Shadow, Ranger, Embers and Frost. That gives you an ungodly amount of firepower at your disposal with the addition of a Northstar Prime, a Scorch Prime, and a pair of Ronin Primes." _

"You did hear me when I said they could barely afford us here, right?" Summer counters. "And that Raven and I are worried we can't handle that Wyvern if it's bigger than we were told?"

Mama swipes a smirk across her chassis, right below her core.  _ "That's the best part, Jenna and I are willing to work for recharges for ourselves, and food, clothes, and shelter for Sarah. Girl's already smarter than most adults we know, and I've met plenty of them in my 87 years of service. And flight capable enemies I can handle no problem with my other baby here."  _ She declares as she pats her predator cannon fondly.

"Sum, it's not a bad deal." Raven points out as she walks up, wrapping an arm around her waist lovingly. "Hell, that engineer wolf guy thinks he can convert them to dust batteries with just a few modifications."

_ "Mom and I can bring down that Wyvern, no problem!"  _ Jenna declares loudly as she joins them, Sarah and Ruby giggling as they ride on top of the amused Tone Prime.  _ "Gimme a few hours, and I might be able to drain enough juice from that plasma railgun inside the TMM to get one good fight in." _

_ "Do it." Mama _ orders with a nod before looking at Summer.  _ "And if that wolf guy gets us back to full power, I'll bring it's skull back my damned self." _

"Ok, hold on. How is she your daughter?" Raven asks curiously. "You two aren't the same kind of Titan are you?"

Mama focuses on the taller of the two women.  _ "The blonde isn't Summer's daughter, but your's. But she still calls her her daughter, right?" _

Raven smiles as she nods in agreement. "Yeah, she does." She replies firmly.

"I've raised Yang since she was six months old, so you're damned straight she's mine!" Summer adds fiercely as she glares at the Legion Prime.

_ "Exactly. I was there when Jenna was installed and christened. She started following me around like some little lost puppy, so she grew on me. Her and Embers both. Ergo, they became my two girls and Sarah's older sisters." _ Mama sighs.  _ "Granted, Embers went down during our initial escape, but we hung onto her core too. Always hoped we could hot swap her into another Scorch." _

Raven looks thoughtful for a moment. "Everything sounds good to me, and would get us better work too." She admits.

Summer nods in agreement. "Glynda's been bugging us to come back to Vale, but Lionheart's also after us too. Send them both proof that we four together can bring that Wyvern down, and they have to start letting us take on higher priority hunts." 

Raven nods slowly in her growing agreement. "With these two and the rest of their friends, we could afford to finally settle down someplace nice, maybe even be able to afford to send the girls to either Signal or Sanctum here in Mistral."

_ "Sounds like a win win to me." _ Mama points out as she offers a finger to Summer.  _ "Partners?" _

Summer takes the finger and shakes. "Partners." She agrees.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Summer led the two Titans back to the cave and past it, guiding them towards the last spot they had spotted and had a brief skirmish with the Wyvern. Now settled into the Legion Prime's cockpit, she watches through a trio of holographic screens as the two Titans search through the thick woods.

"You know, I fully expected you to be more of a wrecking ball." The rabbit faunus admits as Mama carefully maneuvers around a tree almost as large as she is.

_ "Me? Nah, had that bad habit broken by another Ogre almost fifty years ago or so now. Sucker caught me in a trap, and my pilot and I almost got killed." _

"Ogre? Like the Grimm?" She asks curiously. 

_ "Nah, nothing like that."  _ The Titan chuckles as a picture of an Ogre class Titan appears on one of her screens.  _ "This was me, right off the assembly line. First oh thirty years or so of my life I actually worked on a salvage yard. Good times." _

_ "Mom, I think I found that Wyvern."  _ Jenna calls out. 

Summer sits up, her eyes scanning the screens. "I don't see anything."

_ "Patch me in, Jen." _ The veteran Legion orders, a feed from Jenna's core coming in a moment later.  _ "Summer?" _

"That's it." She declares as she nods. "Let me out and I'll help."

_ "Stay put. Let me and Jenna handle this. Jenna?" _

_ "Yeah mom?" _ The Tone replies as her tracker cannon is seen aiming at the Grimm, which is crouching down on its wing joints as it's spiked tail waves menacingly.

_ "Herd it my way." _ The Legion Prime orders as she scans her surroundings.  _ "Gonna set up in a small clearing twenty two meters to my left." _

_ "Copy! Engaging target!"  _ Summer watches as the Tone opens fire, three rounds hammering home quickly and efficiently into the roaring Grimm, right before a volley of missiles slam into it, sending it tumbling violently into a tree. 

Mama meanwhile abandons subtlety for speed as she moves to the clearing, frightening several different types of wildlife as well as accidentally crushing a boarbatusk underfoot with a squeal.  _ "Sorry, not sorry." _

_ "Head's up Mama! Big bitch incoming!"  _ Jenna calls out as her tracker cannon sounds off again.  _ "Fuck! I only got two rounds into it!" _

_ "Keep it coming towards me, babygirl." _ Mama orders as she swaps from long range targeting to short range, her combat systems ready to lock onto the giant Grimm.  _ "I'm on site!" _

"Mama, are you two still sure you can handle this?" Summer asks as she watches through the Titan's consoles. "Wyverns are really dangerous."

_ "Yeah, we got this."  _ She replies calmly as her targeting systems lock on to the Wyvern, which is slamming itself through the trees with a screech, two tightly placed rounds still smoking from its left shoulder, and one wing blown off at the shoulder joint. 

_ "Come to Mama!"  _ The Titan roars as she opens fire, emptying the entire magazine into the creature of darkness. The Wyvern's chest armor all but implodes as it gets slammed by the furious volley, the beast shrieking in pain and rage.  _ "Jenna!" _ She calls out as she reloads.

_ "Target Acquired!"  _ She roars as the last round hits the Grimm from behind before it gets hammered forward towards the heavyweight Titan by a massive onslaught of missiles from the Tone Prime's salvo core ability.

Setting her feet, the Legion Prime rears back with her predator cannon and waits. Once the Wyvern is forced into her range by the concussive force of the exploding missiles, she rams it forward and slams the multiple barrels into the cracked and ruined armor plating.  _ "Thanks for playing, asshole." _ The Titan declares smugly as a superheated spike suddenly rips through the Grimm while the Titan deadlifts it into the air with ease.  _ "But you lose." _ She adds before hitting the broken Grimm with a massive blast from the barrels of her weapon, ripping it into pieces.

"Holy Goddess save the cookies…" Summer whispers quietly as she makes the sign of the crucifix across herself.

_ "Awwww, it's dissolving!"  _ Jenna whines as she appears, tracker cannon held in a high ready position.  _ "How are we supposed to report it?" _

_ "We got our combat recorders, Jenna."  _ The Legion Prime replies as she reloads.  _ "Should be good enough." _

"I just witnessed it." Summer adds as she checks to see if her scroll, which she had placed in a pouch hanging from her neck, had recorded the short, but brutal battle. Nodding in satisfaction after verifying the video, she turns it off to save the remaining battery.

_ "I need to get back, mom. My batteries are flashing."  _ Jenna reports as she walks up while reloading.  _ "I doubt you want to drag my heavy butt." _

"It is getting late." Summer adds as she checks a Wuffie the Beowolf watch on her right wrist. "But wow are you two impressive!"

_ "Nah, just good like that.  _ The Legion chuckles as she stores her predator cannon on her back.  _ "Come on, Monkey's probably going nuts. She's definitely not used to being left behind." _

"Or Raven." Summer adds with a giggle. "She's used to being out with me."

_ "Hold up. I'm getting a signal from the TMM."  _ Jenna reports.  _ "But it's coming from the village." _

_ "Double time for me! You catch up Jenna!"  _ Mama orders as she gets moving, the ground shaking with every heavy step.

"Is she sure?" The huntress asks nervously.

_ "Oh yeah. Jenna's got some of the best sensor packages I've ever seen. She's actually built for electronic warfare."  _ The Legion informs her as she barrels through the forest.  _ "But how in the fuck did that damned thing get to the village?! Unless…" _

"Unless?" Summer asks as she dials her wife's number and waits.

_ "The skid we had it on can be controlled via remote, but the remote got trashed by that jerkoff Gabriel Hicks."  _ She explains.  _ "But then again, Monkey's got a talent with machines, just like her father. Terry always said only she could bring out the TMM's full potential, he just never explained how." _

"Come on Birdie, pick up! Pick up!"

_ "Hiya! Thanks for calling my awesome Mommy's scroll! Ruby speaking!" _ Ruby chirps brightly as the call connects.

"Ruby! Thank the Goddess! Where's your mother?!"

_ "She's busy with Sarah. We went and brought her thingamajig back from the cave after the village headman unlocked her aura cause she cut her hand on a sharp piece of metal." _ Ruby explains.  _ "This is so cool! She's making another one of those robots! She said it's her other sister! Can we have a giant robot sister, Mommy?" _

_ "SHE'S DOING WHAT?!" _

"THE ELDER DID WHAT?!"

_ "Oops, I gotta go. Mommy's looking for her scroll and looks really mad. Ok love you mommy bye!" _

"No wait Ruby don't!" Summer groans as her scroll disconnects to end the call. "Mama?"

_ "I'm moving my fat ass as fast as I can!" _ The Titan replies as she knocks several trees down with a well timed shoulder block. The two of them worried as to what kind of shenanigans Sarah and the others are up to now.

The two Titans and the huntress don't notice the glowing red eyes or the angry growl of another, even larger Grimm following them as they make their way back to the village…


	2. The New Titan and the Greater Wyvern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya everyone! Wyn here with this Friday's newest chapter of RWBYFall! I don't have a whole lot to say this week, other than say I hope everyone enjoys!

Raven smiles as she watches Sarah type on a virtual keyboard, a steaming cup of coffee next to her and her face scrunched up in concentration. The veteran huntress has to admit, the ten year old impresses her. She's as brave as a lion, as smart as any adult she's ever met, and so sweet she's taken to joking that she could sweeten her coffee with just her pinky alone.

She and Summer are growing to love her already, as well as the girls, who are treating her as an older sister and not a friend. And her semblance is as unique as she is, giving her the ability to speak and commune with any kind of device put into her hands. She had spent almost an hour solid simply touching the giant device she has made her own, tears streaming down her face as she cried silently before activating the amazing headache of a machine. 

"Okie…" She mutters as she takes one of those core things out of a cabinet set next to her keyboard and looks up at the Titan still standing silently in the construction bay of the TMM. "Mrs. Raven?"

"Yeah Monkey?" She's taken to calling her that as well, she finds it suits her perfectly as normally Summer has to scrub her clean every single night after she has managed to crawl into something else to explore it thoroughly to see how it works. 

"I'm scared." The little Titan pilot admits quietly. "What if she's mad cause she died? Or if something happened to her while we were running and she forgot us all?"

The older woman kneels next to her and smiles. "Hey, you gotta have faith kiddo. You kept her safe all these years, and she's gonna see that." She reassures her as she rubs her back.

She nods as she moves forward and holds the core up, a mechanical arm moving down to take it and bring it to its proper position. They watch as the arm locks the control device for the Titan into place, Sarah walking back over to her console once it's done. "Okie, here we go!" She declares as she pushes the activate button on the screen…

_ *System startup sequence initialized. Testing boot systems…* _

"Hello? Heeeeelllllloooooo!" Ruby calls out as she slides to a stop. "I didn't miss it did I?!"

"You gotta wait a sec, Ruby!" The little blonde giggles.

"She is so awesome looking!" The little rabbit faunus girl declares.

_ *Starting up root drive Scorch.exe… _

_ Initializing Scorch.exe. _

_ … _

_ Successful! _

_... _

_ Booting up personality profile "Embers"...* _

"Oh big sister! Wakey wakey! I know you're working!"

_ *Personality profile "Embers" loaded… _

_... _

_ Booting up primary core… _

_ Secondary core found…  _

_ … _

_ Initiating data back ups…* _

"Are you sure she's gonna wake up?" Raven asks curiously as she stares at the computer screen.

"Uh huh, lookit! She's using the backup core I made for her! She's backing herself up to the TMM!" The little pilot declares in excitement.

_ *Loading protocols…. _

**_Protocol One_ ** _ : Link to Pilot _

**_Protocol Two_ ** _ : Uphold the Mission _

**_Protocol Three_ ** _ : Protect the Pilot… _

_ …. Pilot helmet signal not found… _

_ …Pilot confirmed KIA during action on Harmony. Preparing for autonomous actions…* _

"Hey Sarah, what do these mean?" Raven points at the three protocols still on the screen.

"Oh, those are a Titan's protocols, Mrs. Raven. It's rules they gotta follow during missions." She explains.

"Oh. Makes sense."

"Oh look at that, Birdie! Even a multiton combat robot has rules it has to follow!" Summer teases her as she walks up with Yang, the blonde yawning sleepily.

"Shut up, Sum." The other woman grumbles as she pouts.

_ * _ **_Protocol Four_ ** _ : Protect Pilot Designated "Sarah Bogard" at all costs. Full DNA profiles are now loaded for fast identification. All threats to Designator "Sarah Bogard" are to be neutralized at any cost... _

**_Protocol Five_ ** _ : Protect object "Titan Mobile Maintenance" at all costs… _

_... _

_ Protocols four and five are tantamount to all other protocols by order of Captain Jack Cooper, Colonial SRS. If protocols four and five become compromised, use of lethal force is authorized. Designator "Sarah Bogard" is to be neutralized quickly, and as painlessly as possible. Object "Titan Mobile Maintenance" is to be fully destroyed…* _

"Sarah, are you ok?" Summer catches the sudden scent of fear coming from the little blonde girl she's come to adore in such a short time.

"Uncle Coop ordered them to kill me?!" She shrieks in growing terror.

_ "Monkey! No, you ignore those last two! We swore to protect you no matter what!"  _ Mama yells as she storms up, looking worriedly at the Scorch Prime.  _ "I swore to keep you alive no matter what it took."  _ She adds reassuringly.

_ *DNA profile confirmed as Pilot Sarah Bogard… _

_ …. _

_ Confirming IFF signals from BLP-1124 and JEC-9718... _

_ …. _

_ Warning! Unknown DNA profiles are present and surrounding Pilot Bogard! Protocol Four is now active! Entering combat mode!  _

_... _

_ Light 'em up, pyro!* _

"Ok, now what's happening?!" Raven cries out as the arms and equipment surrounding the rebuilt Titan begin to move back as the core lights up a bright red.

"She's waking up! Move!" Sarah calls out.

_ "NO! RUN SARAH!" _ The Scorch Prime screams as she moves free of the TMM, grabbing at an odd looking weapon on her back. 

Mama is in front of her in an instant, the now awakened Titan's weapon pushed upwards and away from hitting any structures.  _ "Embers! Calm down! We're safe! We made it!" _

The giant red, orange and white Titan stops struggling against the Legion and stares.  _ "Mom? Why did I just reboot?" _

The larger Titan chuckles as she leans over to touch cores gently with her.  _ "It's a long story, firebug. You've kinda been nothing but a core for the last four years." _

_ "Oh. Makes sense." _ The Scorch Prime admits quietly.  _ "I guess I just scared the hell out of everyone?" _

_ "Just a little." _

Sarah's head pops around the side of the TMM, her eyes as wide as plates. "You guys were supposed to kill me?!"

_ "No!" _ Mama and Jenna, who finally arrives from her own patrol, both roar in unison.

_ "Monkey, Coop gave me the override codes to change your designation before all hell broke loose during the evac of Harmony."  _ Mama explains as she kneels down to look closer at the young girl.  _ "He and I both agreed that protocols four and five were too much, but command didn't leave him a choice." _

Jenna nods her core.  _ "But Mom didn't have time to get Embers' changed over, cause she and her pilot both went down. I barely grabbed her core before I got forced back to the ship." _

"Oh." The blonde haired girl nods. "I guess it was that important, huh?"

"Wait, you mean to tell me if you had to die, you accept it?!" Raven asks in shock as he stares at the young pilot, while Summer growls angrily.

"I'm gonna kill him the next time I see him." The rabbit faunus mutters too low to be overheard.

"You saw what I just did, Mrs. Raven." She replies quietly. "I just rebuilt a Titan from scratch in little over two weeks. And that was with the TMM's reactor failing twice and having to use all those scrapped vehicles the village elder said we could have! I didn't even know it could do that until my semblance thingy showed me!"

_ "The TMM is keyed only to Monkey now too. Only she can use it."  _ Mama adds as she watches Embers look around, the Scorch Prime's core as wide as a proverbial eye as it takes in the scenery.  _ "All the tech built into it is as unique as my monkey, too." _

_ "I honestly have no fucking idea where I am right now."  _ Embers mutters as she turns to look back at the others.  _ "Anyone wanna explain things to me?!" _

"Are all of you potty mouths?" Ruby asks with a giggle, her foot long ears wiggling in amusement.

"It comes with the territory of being soldiers, Ruby." Summer replies with a soft sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose. 

_ "I'm sorry, Ruby was it?" _ Embers asks as she kneels down.  _ "I'll go ahead and put a check on my vocabulary processes to keep it to a minimum around you, ok?" _

"Okie!" The little rabbit girl squeals in delight as she hops around. "You're just as cool as Mama and Jenna!"

_ "Nah, I'm way hotter than my Mom and my sister!" _ She declares with a wink of her core.  _ "I'm a Scorch Prime. Fighting fire with fire is my specialty." _

"That's so awesome…" Yang breathes out as she stares at the Titan.

"So who should I rebuild next?" Sarah asks Mama and Summer both as she digs in her satchel. "I could do Ranger? We could use a Northstar to help hunt down that other Wyvern! Oooo, or Frost! She and Shadow both are awesome with all the close range stuff you guys have been having to do!"

_ "Hold your horses a sec, Monkey." _ Mama replies with a chuckle as she pats the top of her head gently with one padded finger.  _ "Summer, Raven, and I have been talking, and we've been giving a lot of thought as to your future as well as Ruby and Yang's." _

The young blonde tilts her head at her Titan. "Ok? What do you mean?" She asks curiously as she closes the canvas bag she carries at all times.

"Yeah, Auntie and Mommy! What do you guys mean?" Ruby echoes as she dashes over, Yang too busy talking excitedly with the Scorch to pay attention to anything else.

Raven chuckles as she scoops her younger daughter up into her arms. "We may be heading back to Vale, kiddo. Your mom's been negotiating a new long term contract for the four of us adults."

_ "Speak for yourself, Raven. I'm technically only seven."  _ Jenna informs her with a giggle.

"You almost don't count either, Birdie." Summer adds teasingly. "But you get a pass physically."

Raven huffs as she looks away poutingly. "Why, Sum? Why do you gotta hurt a girl like that?"

"Yeah Mama! Leave my Mommy alone!" Ruby huffs as she hugs the woman, who hugs her back chuckling.

_ "Anywho, Monkey. Sum got the letters with some contract for her and Raven this morning. Once we finally track down the other Wyvern they were contracted to kill in the area and didn't know about until the elder asked about it, we're all out of here."  _ The Legion informs her young pilot.  _ "And Miss Summer and Mrs. Raven are gonna adopt you too." _

"No! I don't want them as my Mama and Mommy! I want you!" The little girl screams at the Titan, who sighs.

"Sarah." Summer calls out as she kneels down to look her in the eyes, her hands gently taking Sarah's. "Mama will always be your Mama, I promise. But from a legal standpoint, Raven and I have to be your mothers on paper until the Valian Council sees that Mama and the others actually can think for themselves and everything."

_ "Those things take time, Monkey." _ Mama adds quietly.  _ "And you need to go to school and try to go back to being a kid and all, at least for a little longer. But me? I'm not going anywhere, ok?" _

Sarah stays silent as she mulls everything over, her hands still in the older faunus woman's. "I guess it's ok." She finally whispers. "Just…"

"Just what, sweetie?" Raven asks as she kneels next to Summer while setting Ruby down gently.

"Jenna's old pilot always said ohana. It meant family where he was from." She replies quietly as she looks at her hands in Summer's. "My family is broken. My daddy died to protect me, my mama died trying to stop Marder, and all my brothers died from the plague he used to kill everyone I knew on my own homeworld, then he destroyed Harmony too and killed Uncle Coop. All I got left is Mama, Jenna, and now Embers, and I'm scared of losing anyone else again." She looks up at Raven and Summer with tears in her eyes. "I don't wanna get used to you guys just to lose you too. I don't wanna love you guys like I wanna start doing just to have some other stupid head like Gabriel or his dummy head sister just rip it all away like his dad did to me once already."

Ruby suddenly wiggles her way in and looks up at the taller girl. "No! We're gonna be your family now too! My Mama and Mommy are the best, and no stupid Grimm is gonna take them away from any of us!" She declares as she puts her hands on top of Sarah's and Summer's.

Raven nods. "That's right, Kiddo. Sum and I? We don't make promises we can't keep, ok? And as long as we have a single breath left in both our bodies, we always come back to all our girls, isn't that right Sum?" She directs the conversation back to her as she too sets her own hands on Ruby's.

Summer smiles as she squeezes the girl's hands gently. "Sarah, don't be afraid, ok? Once we finally track down the other Wyvern, our hunt here in Mistral is finished, and then it looks like we're all going to Vale to live and work. Raven, Mama and I are gonna work really hard to give you three a strong, stable home to live in."

_ "Hey! Us too you know!"  _ Jenna protests as Embers joins them.

_ "You can count me in, too." _ The Scorch declares as Yang wiggles into the middle and sets her own hands on Raven's.

"Mommy's right! Her and Mama never make promises they can't keep, Sarah!" The lilac eyed girl declares with a grin. 

Ruby nods. "You got a bigger family now!" She adds firmly, a look of happiness in her bright quicksilver eyes.

The too young pilot looks at her Titan, who nods her core.  _ "This is home now, Monkey. And they just want a chance to be a major part of our family." _

Taking a deep breath, she gives the four people who have started to change her life for the better a wide, gapped toothed smile. "Okie dokie then!" She declares happily. 

Ruby and Yang both squeal in delight as they rush over and hug the older girl, while Jenna suddenly straightens up.  _ "Sarah, get inside Mama, now!" _ She declares as her tracker cannon rises up.  _ "Ruby, you're with me!" _

"What?! What's going on?!" Ruby looks around, her long ears wiggling until they suddenly stop and rise straight up. "It's big…"

Summer nods as she takes Retribution off her own back, her face pale. "Really big…"

_ "Embers! Take Yang! Monkey, come on!" _ Mama orders as the Scorch and Tone Primes both open their pilot's compartments while scooping up the two little girls to deposit them safely inside.  _ "Summer, Raven, get people to shelter! Something really big is coming!" _

"It has to be that Wyvern!" The seasoned huntress calls out as her wife starts to bark orders to the civilians who had gathered around them. "But most Grimm won't follow anything unless it's older!"

_ "I guess it hated all the happy feelings and decided to come personally to squash 'em." _ Mama replies as her predator cannon swings slowly in the direction of the noise that is growing louder.  _ "And it decided to bring some friends too." _

_ "Yang, don't touch anything, ok?" _ Embers calls out as she loads a thermite shell into her T-203 and snaps the breech closed.  _ "By the Creator, are my power levels correct?"  _ She suddenly asks in surprise.

_ "Dust is some amazing stuff, sis."  _ Jenna giggles.  _ "Hell, I only need one battery now myself!" _

_ "We still pack three."  _ Mama adds firmly over a private comm channel.  _ "Don't want to risk some asshat getting a rodeo on us and shutting us down." _

_ "Copy that!" _ Embers replies as she salutes.

"Sure is! And Mama helped Jenna make gravity rounds for her tracker cannon! It's gonna hurt!" Ruby singsongs as she stares at the displays in fascination, not having heard the private conversation between Mama and Embers. 

_ "Cores up! Weapons hot!"  _ Mama calls out as she begins to advance slowly.  _ "Monkey, you got anything?" _

Sarah finished putting her child sized helmet on and takes control of the Legion Prime. "Yeah, movement three klicks out." She replies calmly. "Coming in hot!"

_ "Embers, you deal with any ground bound small fries that pop up. If you need it, there's an XO-16 hanging on the back of the TMM." _ Mama orders. 

"Over there!" Yang points to the chaingun, which is hanging by an enormous strap. "See it Embers?"

_ "Sure do, thanks Blondie."  _ The Scorch replies as she levels her thermite launcher.  _ "Mama, picking up multiple targets. Permission to fire?" _

"Wait until you see them, Embers." Summer calls out as she and Raven move through the village, getting the civilians towards an underground shelter. "Some of them are too fast for you to try to bullseye with grenades."

_ "Heh heh heh."  _ The Titan chuckles as odd canisters begin to launch from shoulder mounted ejectors.  _ "I got this, Mrs. Branwen. Mama, Sarah! Gonna funnel them all towards you!" _

_ "Copy that! _ "

"Solid copy! Try to keep the forest fires to a minimum please?" The girl asks. "It's really pretty."

_ "Here they come!"  _ Jenna declares.  _ "I got solid contacts on radar!" _

_ "Light em up, Firebug!"  _ Mama orders as she herself opens fire, her gatling cannon chewing through an entire pack of beowolves easily. 

_ "Launching thermite! Stay clear!"  _ Her T-203 makes an odd whump sound as a thermite grenade is sent sailing towards the first batch of canisters she launched. To the surprise of the two huntresses, the second the grenade touches down and explodes, the entire area she seeded with the canisters goes up in superheated flames, catching a mixed group of Grimm attracted by the Wyvern and instantly burning them to ashes.  _ "Moving to the next position!"  _ She calls out as she gets on the move, canisters already launching as she reloads her main gun.

"That was so awesome!" Yang cried out from inside the cockpit. "You just went whump, and then everything went boom!"

_ "That's how I work, Blondie."  _ The Titan chuckles as she snaps the breech of her weapon closed.  _ "Scorchs are made for battlefield control. I close off the ways we don't want them to come, so that the big dps dealers like Jenna and Mama can mow em down!" _

Yang just nods as she watches a second grenade launch and explode with identical results. "So cool!"

Meanwhile, Jenna and Ruby stay on the move, the Titan's tracker cannon and missiles making quick work of anything trying to sneak past Ember's growing amount of choke points. Stopping from a dash to reload, the Titan raises her free hand to point at a massive shadow still hiding amongst the trees.  _ "Hey Ruby? What's that?" _

Looking away from studying Jenna's controls, the young rabbit faunus girl turns as pale as a ghost. "That's the Wyvern!" She shrieks as the gigantic Grimm, feeding off her sudden fear, roars in challenge as it rises to its full ground height, wings extending to almost block all the light from the coming sunset. "That's a Greater Wyvern!" 

"It's a what?!" Raven yells as she finishes herding the villagers into the shelter.

"It's a Greater Wyvern! I recognize it from Willow's Grimm books!" Ruby screams as she trembles in terror.

"Fall back!" Summer roars. "That thing can rip you to shreds!"

_ "Oh shit."  _ Jenna mutters as she looks up with her core, surprised at how much bigger the winged Grimm is compared to her.  _ "Mama! I have contact with primary target, and it's almost three times bigger than the one we killed before!"  _ She roars over comms as she raises her weapon and fires three rounds rapidly, the gravity dust infused rounds barely penetrating the beast's tough bone armor and hide despite the addition of the dust to the rounds.  _ "Oh double shit…" _

"Those barely went in!" Ruby screams as Jenna fires a salvo of missiles at the Grimm, all of them finding their overly large target easily, the older beast all but shrugging them off as it begins to flap its wings, rising slowly into the air.

_ "I noticed!"  _ The Tone replies calmly as she boosts backwards, alternating her fire between her cannon and missile salvos. 

_ "Mama! Target is airborne! Gonna try to lead this thing to you and Embers!" _

_ "Be careful! You got precious cargo on board!"  _ The Legion replies over the sound of her predator cannon and thermite grenades exploding.  _ "Missiles having any effect?" _

_ "Honestly? I'm just pissing this thing off!" _ The Titan squeals as she dodges a swipe from the Grimm's wickedly barbed tail spikes.  _ "Permission to clip its wings?" _

_ "Denied! Get it closer!"  _

_ "Fuck! Ok!" _ The Tone grumbles as she keeps moving back towards the other two Titans while acting as bait, a screaming Ruby curled into a tight ball in her pilot's seat, her fear overwhelming her and enticing the creature with a particularly tasty meal if it can catch them.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Mama!" Summer calls out as she runs up, scythe in hand and an odd glow in her eyes. "I have an idea, but I need you and Embers to pull it off!"

_ "Talk to me!"  _ The Legion replies calmly as she reloads, the corridor she's been guarding empty for a moment. 

"Listen, it sounds like that Wyvern is an ancient class. Those are the absolute toughest to beat because of all the armor and thick hide. If you can bring it down to the ground, Embers can light that sucker on fire and I can finish it off!" She informs the Titan, who shakes her core.

_ "No way, Sum. Thermite is a controlled form of napalm. It burns superhot, especially when Embers uses her incendiary traps with it." _ The Titan explains.

Summer grimaces as they all hear the roar of the Wyvern approaching. "What does that mean?!"

"It means once Embers hits that Wyvern, you'll melt before you even get close to it." Sarah informs the older woman. "And you made me a promise." She adds.

Summer nods as she looks at the looming darkness getting closer. "I know, sweetie." She replies quietly before looking up at Mama. "Then what's the plan? Cause I won't lie, Raven and I would never have been able to deal with it by ourselves."

"Yeah! Ozpin never said anything about a fucking Greater Wyvern!" The red eyed woman adds as she joins them.

Embers storms up, her T-203 in hand.  _ "Bring it down, both of you. Mrs. Raven too if she can manage it. I'll handle the rest." _

_ "You sure?"  _ Mama asks.

_ "I got a flame core ready. To paraphrase Jenna, pew pew pew, BOOM!" _ The Scorch replies calmly.

Summer nods as her scythe folds back, the muzzle of a rifle of some kind extending outward. "Birdie and I'll aim for the membranes on the right wing." She declares before vanishing in a burst of rose petals with her wife, the two of them darting into the small two story house they have been staying in.

_ "Guess that leaves me the left wing." _ Mama adds as she looks fondly at the Scorch.  _ "This is your game now, Firebug. But we definitely got your back." _ She adds before she and Sarah move to a better firing position.

The Scorch positions herself firmly between the two columns of fire she created, the flames still burning almost white hot as she keeps the barrel of her thermite launcher steadily aimed in between the two columns.

"Embers, you ok?" Yang asks quietly.

_ "Just getting ready, Blondie. Listen, when I say now, I want you to hit both those big red triggers on the ends of my controls. Can you do that?"  _ The Titan asks the eight year old, who nods.

"What do they do?" She asks as she timidly takes them both in hand.

_ "They let me use my core ability, Flame Core. I'm gonna be busy hitting that thing with every kitchen sink and stove I can find."  _ She replies to the human girl fondly as a rapidly firing Jenna and screaming Ruby appear. They both watch as the Tone Prime abandons her cover fire, opting to finally turn to retreat fully now that she's in the corridor of flames.  _ "Ready?" _

Yang nods as she gulps nervously. "Uh huh. Just say when."

_ "Keep your cool, Yang. It won't reach us, I promise."  _ The Scorch Prime reassures her as the Wyvern continues to chase both their sisters.

_ "Now!"  _ Mama roars over comms as the distinct sound of her predator cannon is suddenly heard, along with the sounds of an automatic rifle and high caliber pistol from the top of the building Summer and Raven vanished into. The Titan and her passenger watch as the ancient Grimm shrieks in pain, its wings getting shredded by the combined fire. Surprisingly, the blonde girl can still hear Jenna's swearing as she darts past them both, while Ruby's screaming finally stops.

"Target is down!" Summer calls out as the Greater Wyvern hits the ground with a scream of pain, sliding for a short distance before stopping.

_ "Hit it now, firebug!"  _ Mama roars as she keeps pouring a murderous amount of bullets into the downed Grimm, while missiles launch from her shoulder racks with deadly accuracy.

_ "Launching Incendiary traps and Thermite!"  _ Embers roars as she suddenly starts to move, casting her launcher away once the grenade is clear of the muzzle.  _ "Preparing for Flame Core deployment!" _

_ "Go get em! Kick his big scaley ass!" _ Jenna roars as she turns and levels her tracker cannon at it, firing another salvo of missiles at the Greater Wyvern to help keep it down.

"That's it! Language!" Summer roars.

_ "I gotta agree! That's enough, Jenna!" _

Embers ignores all the chatter as she watches the massive Grimm struggle to rise, all while she continues to pelt it with every trap she has left in her internal racks. Once the Grimm itself is screaming in pain as it struggles to free itself from the now white hot flames, she positions herself to face it fully, her arms already rising into the air. 

_ "Yang! Now!" _

The girl nods as she pushes both triggers simultaneously. "Go Embers go!"

_ "Feed on this!" _ The Scorch Prime roars as both fists slam into the earth, a massive wave of flames heading straight for the shrieking Grimm, which feeds from the already existing fires to turn just as white hot as it travels rapidly towards it's target with murderous intent. They all watch as the creature of darkness is struck dead on, it's shrieks of pain growing louder as it gets engulfed in the Titan's flames. Soon, bone armor simply melts away as the thick, hardened hide remains ablaze, and the Grimm finally stops its screaming to fall back dead.

_ "Target neutralized." _ Embers declares firmly as she straightens back up.

"Yeah!" Yang cheers from inside the compartment. "We did it!"

"We did it?!" Ruby calls out next as she finally peeks from behind her ears, which she's been using to cover her eyes. "Ohmygoshwereallydiditandwedidn'tdie!"

Jenna chuckles as she walks back up.  _ "Oh I bet that thing stinks!" _

_ "Cores up!" _ Mama barks out as she punts a squealing Boarbatusk into the flames.  _ "We still got a lot of stragglers!" _

_ "Copy that. Ruby, you ok for now? Don't wanna let you out while we mop things up." _ Jenna asks as she raises and fires her tracker cannon, turning another boarbatusk into a black mist.

"Just no more big Greater Wyverns please?" She begs quietly. "That one was enough!"

_ "No more Wyverns period, Ruby. We all promise."  _ Mama chuckles.  _ "Don't think we can handle another one ourselves right now. I'm bingo on ammo and missiles." _

_ "I think we all are."  _ Embers adds as she punches a particularly brave Alpha Beowolf that gets too close to her. 

_ "Whatever it takes."  _ Mama orders firmly.  _ "Let's get these bastards out of town." _

"Copy that Mama!" Sarah replies chipperly as she attaches a tablet to her comm. "Already got the TMM working on fresh ammo."

_"Awesome!"_ Jenna cheers as she uses her tracker cannon as a golf club to smack another beowolf into a tree. The three Titans, one child pilot, and two passengers busy themselves with mop up operations, while the villagers as well as a pair of huntresses watch on...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Summer Rose can't help but stare at the burning beast, which is melting away from the intense heat created by the newest Titan. Even with her own hidden gifts, she would have been hard pressed to even be able to slow the creature down, or even defeat it. She would have…

"Sum." Raven shakes her gently, breaking her free of her musings. "You ok, babe?"

"That thing would have killed me if I had gone alone as we originally planned, Birdie." She admits out loud as she keeps staring at the slowly dying pyre. "I never would have stood even a fighting chance."

"Yeah, kinda noticed that too." She agrees as she wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer. "I think we need to stay the hell outta Vale at this point, Sum. I'm starting to think this whole job was a set up."

She nods in agreement as she nestles closer to her. "The village elder did keep saying that we wouldn't have been enough. Goddess, Raven, who would want to kill us?!"

The woman sighs as she looks at the flames, then the Titans who are busy mopping up any remaining Grimm brave enough or stupid enough to try to keep fighting. "I got a few ideas, Sum. And old Ozpin's at the top of that list."

"It… makes sense, doesn't it?" She admits quietly as she watches Mama angrily stomp a King Taijitu's white head into the ground, while Embers simply twists the black head savagely to rip it off. "He's been angry at the both of us since I chose to help you raise Yang after Tai vanished instead of keeping on with his weird missions. Yet all of a sudden, he offers us a too good to be true contract in the middle of nowhere in Mistral?"

"Sum, we really shouldn't go back to Vale. You and I both already thought it was weird how the guild denied all our contract offers, even the ones where we lowballed ourselves." Raven points out. "Then all of a sudden they agree on the condition we make one hundred percent sure to bring Sarah and the TMM. Seems too convenient."

She nods in her agreement. "Not any of the Titans, just Sarah and her gizmo." She sighs as she looks back at the blonde haired girl who is now standing on Mama's wide shoulders, using a small SMG to help bring more Grimm down. "I won't do it. I have a horribly bad feeling about it."

"Me too." Raven agrees quietly. "She's just a kid. She definitely needs to be doing kid stuff, not all this. But if not Vale, where?"

"Lionheart's been offering us both jobs to teach at Haven." She reminds the taller woman. "I bet he would help fast track Sarah's adoption if I at least accept."

"Hey, I'd be a great teacher you know!" The other woman mock protests as she smiles down at her faunus wife, both of them taking note that the last of the Grimm have either fled or been defeated. 

"Uh huh. Half your students would be dead in a week. The rest would be too traumatized to continue." She teases her wife as she smiles up at her. "But you're definitely better at negotiating then me."

Raven nods. "Then I'll head to Mistral first thing in the morning." She declares. "I'll take all three of the girls with me, along with one of them." She adds as she motions to the Titans, who are now talking quietly while ensuring the fires from the defeated Wyvern don't spread while the other fires burn themselves out.

"Leave me Mama and Embers." Summer asks. "Once you find us a place and get us set up, we'll follow you with that TMM thingamabob. Just make sure Sarah locks that thing down before you guys leave."

"Sum?"

"Yes Birdie?"

"Thank all three of the Goddesses for those Titans." She declares as she pulls her tighter into her side. "I don't think either of us would have survived fighting that damned thing. And the thought of leaving Ruby and Yang alone in the world scares the hell outta me." The dark haired woman admits quietly as they both watch all three of the girls talk excitedly in the middle of the war machines.

She nods as she tightens her own grip around her wife's sides. "I'd almost say go to Atlas. Stay with Gabbie and Jacques until we figure things out, but I know how much you and Jimmy hate each other."

"Still better than Ozpin." Raven replies bluntly. "Anything is better than that manipulative bastard right now."

"I know Birdie." She replies heavily. "Mom always told me not to trust him when I was at Beacon and after. That he always has mysterious reasons for doing things the way he does. And now seeing this? Realizing we were tricked into taking a job that required multiple teams as well as heavy fire support to complete? I just can't trust him anymore."

"Then yeah, it's definitely settled. We're staying put here. Nothing really for us back in Vale or Patch anyway, except pain." She adds the last in a sad mumble.

Summer nods as she rises up onto her toes to kiss her cheek. "Come on. I need to make dinner and you need to go ahead and call Lionheart. Maybe even that one councilor?"

"Who? Augustus Nikos?" She asks as the two of them begin to walk away from the edge of the roof and towards a small access door set into the tiles. "What for?"

"For the Titans, silly." She smiles impishly at her. "He's the commanding officer for all of Mistral's armies. That's something I'm pretty sure they would definitely understand, and maybe Jenna and Embers both can find new pilots. I doubt Mama would accept anyone but Sarah."

"Huh, didn't even think about that." The dark haired woman admits quietly. "This would definitely put Mistral back on the right track with them working as the heavies for bringing down the really big, tough to handle Grimm that have been moving out of the wild lands."

She nods as she stoops down and opens the hatch. "Exactly. Since Ozpin just burned us for the last time, let's see what Mistral has to offer a silver eyed warrior, a reformed bandit, and three heavy war machines."

"Yup!" Raven chuckles in agreement as she follows her beloved wife while they continue to discuss their possible new future in Mistral, all thoughts of returning to Vale vanishing without a trace…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Qrow Branwen grimaces as he lowers his binoculars. He can't risk getting too close to the village, or else his sister's semblance will ping her. And considering the two of them don't get along? And Summer's still pissed with him over Tai? That would be bad.

He fears his former team leader just that little bit more than his current one. Ozpin is patient, Summer will follow him to the ends of Remnant just to claim his skull as a trophy, then send the rest to Oz in small, easily boxed pieces.

Of course, Ozpin's brilliant plan to have the Greater Wyvern destroy the village as well as the two Titans went up in flames, literally. But he had warned the Headmaster of Beacon that they were building a new one of the combat machines, and it was as big as that Legion Prime their ally warned them about. He needs to call this in to his boss, and hope the man starts yelling. He much prefers Ozpin yelling to the long silences.

Those mean he's plotting someone's eminent demise.

Picking up his scroll, he blinks as he sees the message waiting. Opening it, he sighs as he reads the single sentence:  _ Return at once. _ Good, he hates Mistral anyway. Too many bad memories, too many ghosts, and his sister and former crush are all here to torment him. Closing his eyes, a black feathered crow launches from the tree, arrowing in the direction of the coast. 

He doesn't see the scope following him, a hate filled pair of silver eyes following him to make sure he is going as far away from her growing family as possible...


	3. Coop and Keiko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya everyone! Wyn here with another chapter of RWBYFall! Ok, so confession time! This story is inspired by the events of an old Crossover Roleplay server I was a member of for a little over a year. I was one of the main storytellers, and many of the ideas for RWBYFall came about from it. As always, I hope everyone enjoys, and I'll see you next week for Red Reaper and the White Princess!

"Remind me why we're heading into the deep dark of Vacuo again, Coop?" A short, brown haired, red eyed twenty year old woman calls out as she stands opposite him on the bullhead that he chartered to take them into the anima sector of Mistral. Dressed in a blue combat skirt outfit trimmed in golds and greens, with a matching long coat, and dark blue leggings that end in short heeled brown boots, her cat ears and tail all flicker in her slight annoyance at being dragged out of her warm bed at the crack of dawn for another one of her partner's weird hunches.

"Heard a rumour at the guild hall yesterday when we got back about a trio of giant robots bringing down a nasty Greater Wyvern." Jack Cooper replies calmly as he checks out his R-201. The former rifleman and Titan pilot is struggling to keep calm since he saw the pictures of a familiar figure executing a smaller Wyvern ruthlessly. The man himself hasn't changed much since getting blasted to Remnant when the fold device exploded other than growing out his hair a bit to try to add to his otherwise still youthful appearance. His pilot's gear is still in excellent shape, as is his new combat gear purchased when his old gear finally wore out, or as she once put it, his balls were finally hanging out of his crotch.

"So?" Keiko Ayano asks grumpily before stifling a yawn. Cooper just smirks as he watches her stretch. She's barely five foot three inches tall, but fiesty and short tempered in the mornings. Nothing at all like the scared and shy girl he met when he attended Haven Academy briefly to earn a huntsmen's license with her as his rather unwilling partner. But five years of life or death situations, several mishaps, a few cultural misunderstandings, and a screaming match that ended up with them sharing a kiss in front of the Huntsmen's Guildhall has made them inseparable.

"If I'm right, at least one of them is a Titan, Keiko." He replies as he slings the assault rifle on his back before checking his Wingman next. "Specifically, one of the baddest Legions to ever hit the field."

"Uh huh." Keiko gives him a look that makes him cringe a bit while pulling her hair into a pair of long twin tails that reach her shoulders. "This better be legit, Coop. I'm not tromping all over creation again on a wild goose chase."

"It's legit, and it got passed specifically to me since I'm a bit of an expert and all." He grumbles as he moves to stand next to the younger woman. "Besides, aren't you even the remotest bit curious?"

"Nope. Curiosity and cat killings tend to go hand in hand, and with me being considered a cat faunus here, I'd prefer not getting my tail caught in a trap." She informs him as she pulls a dagger from the small of her back and makes a show of checking it's edge. "Besides, I'm not you. I don't get all excited over some rumor or tentative link to my past suddenly showing up at this roach motel of a planet. I gave up years ago on ever going home." She informs him as she puts the dagger away and begins to inspect a small Adel Conglomerate submachine gun.

Cooper sighs as he puts his helmet on, tuning out the lines of commands and data scrolling on the left side of his HUD like always when it boots up. "We can't give up, you know. You never know if and when we'll find a way back."

Keiko sighs as she looks up at the taller pilot. "Coop." She hesitates for a moment before smiling sadly at him. "You're my life now, and an amazing and wonderful part of it. If we go home, that means losing you, and I won't do it. So please, drop it? Cause every single time you bring it up, you make me feel like I honestly don't matter to you. That going home is more important than staying here with me."

"Oh shit. I…" He sighs as he wraps a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Babe, I never meant it that way. There's just something big I never got to finish back home. A little girl and her big assed Mama that I've been worried sick about for five years now and something really bad I was forced to do by my old C.O. And getting a picture of Big Mama from Lionheart directly? It made that particular worry come back to the surface is all."

"So that picture? What the hell is it?"

"It's the Legion Prime BLP-1124, I'm a hundred percent sure of it. Dunno where she got some missile pods from, but knowing her she got them modded on for the extra firepower." He informs her. "And if Sarah's with her and doing ok, then I can finally stop worrying."

"So if this is your long lost friend, you promise to finally drop all the going back stuff?" She asks quietly as she looks up at him.

"I do, babe. You'll only hear me bitching about finding a decent pizza place outside of Vale from here on out." He informs her, a smile hidden behind his glowing faceplate.

"Or a decent takoyaki place period." She grumbles as she leans into her partner and boyfriend. "Only found one person in Anima that makes it like back home."

"Oh? How far out are they?"

"Doesn't matter. The Grimm thought he was as tasty as his cooking last year." She sighs in disgust. "Stupid beowolves."

Cooper chuckles as he pulls the shorter woman in front of him, wrapping his arms around her delicate seeming shoulders. "That's why we do what we do, Keiko." He reminds her. "To insure the safety of every good chef and short order cook in the world."

She snorts even as she wraps her hands around his arms and smiles. "Listen to us. You'd think all we care about is food."

"And each other. Let's not forget about each other." He adds with a chuckle as they see a village approaching them rapidly, a large, familiar looking robot moving just outside the city walls as well as a repair platform of sorts near the town square. "No way…"

"What?" She asks as she looks down at the village, which the pilot is now circling around looking for a large enough place to land.

"It can't be. They actually have the TMM?!" He declares as they both hear the cracking of his helmet's comms.

_ "Oi! Cooper! Bet your standing there all slack jawed and shit. Come on down, Embers can play catch!" _

"Mama?! How in the fuck?!" He declares in confusion as Keiko looks at him, just as confused.

_ "It's a long story, Coop. And your pilot ain't gonna be able to land either. We took up most of the village square with the TMM." _ The veteran legion calls out over comms.  _ "I'll be there in a bit, I'm checking something out." _

"Hey, Coop? I heard her… it… whatever! I'll get you as low as I can. Just call me when you're ready for a pickup." The pilot informs him.

"You bet, Gus. Thanks for the lift and bring us closer to the mech holding a hand up." He orders before looking at his partner. "Think you can jump it?"

"I'm more than capable of making my own way down, Coop." She replies as she works herself loose of his arms and turns around. "Remember, every lost boy new to Remnant gets a magical cat fairy as a companion!" She adds with a giggle as a double set of golden wings appear on her back before she leaps clear of the now hovering bullhead and stays in place in midair.

"Trust me, I'm lucky to have you, Keiko." He replies fondly as he jumps down and into the Scorch Prime's waiting hand, which lowers a bit to look him in the faceplate.

_ "Hey Cooper! Who's the babe?" _ Embers asks as her core winks impishly.

"Embers, meet my partner Keiko Ayano. Keiko, meet Embers, one of the Militia's toughest and most destructive Scorch Primes." He introduces the two of them with a smug grin behind his faceplate.

For her part, she simply stares at Embers for a moment before waving. "Hi." She finally mumbles quietly as she hovers close enough to offer the pilot turned huntsman a fifty lien card. "You win. I'm officially weirded out."

Cooper takes the offered card with a chuckle. "A pleasure doing business with you."

_ "Hey Coop, Mama said she wants to talk to you ASAP. I'm supposed to bring you out to her as soon as you're ready." _ Embers informs him.  _ "And could you please finally cancel protocols four and five? Sarah's still really upset about them too." _

"Oh shit, hold on." He replies before rattling off a series of numbers and letters, then ordering the deletion of the two protocols in question. "Mama was supposed to have done that already." He adds as Embers puts him down.

_ "She did for the others. I bought the farm during the evac from Harmony." _ She informs the pilot.  _ "I just got put back together a few days ago myself." _

He curiously looks up at the Titan. "If you went down during the evac, then how the hell ARE you back together again?" Before she can answer, he gets distracted by a whistle from his flying partner.

"Hey Cooper!" Keiko calls out as she points in the direction of the village proper. "It's Summer Rose! I guess we know where she's been hiding out now!"

"We'll talk later." He informs the Titan as he turns to look at the already legendary huntress. "Summer! It's been- ACK! WHAT DID I DO?!" He screams out in terror as he barely avoids getting decapitated by her jet black scythe.

"YOU ORDERED THESE POOR TITANS TO MURDER A TEN YEAR OLD GIRL?!" She screams angrily as she swings again, barely missing him a second time. "AND ALL OVER SOME STUPID MACHINE?!"

"LEMME EXPLAIN! I SWEAR I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT!" He shrieks as he uses his jump kit to expertly scale a now screaming Embers, who is trying and failing to swat him away as she stumbles back in her own terror.

_ "GET OFFA ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE AGAIN!" _

Keiko rolls her eyes as she brings a hand to her mouth and whistles loudly. "Hey! Everyone calm it down!" She yells as she glares at them all. "You!" She points at Summer. "Put the scythe away, now! Just cause you're higher ranked than us doesn't mean shit here in Mistral! You're on our turf!" She then looks at Cooper and Embers. "And you two? Act your age and not your shoe size! Quit panicking and let's all sit down and talk!"

"Aye aye!" He calls out.

_ "I think my shoe size would be bigger than my age, Miss." _ Embers snarks.

Summer takes a deep breath and nods as her scythe folds to a storage configuration and she stowes it on her back. "Sorry. I've just been fuming since the other day when I heard about it."

Cooper sighs as he lands back on the ground in front of the Scorch Prime. "I got a lot of things to explain, too." He agrees calmly as he looks up at Keiko and gives her a thumbs up. "Nice save, babe."

"Kinda hate sleeping alone now, and I would rather win back that fifty instead of just taking it from your corpse." She smirks as she lands, her wings vanishing a moment later. 

Cooper chuckles as he removes his helmet and places it on a small custom built apparatus to hold it securely on his webbed belt. "Yeah, won't have it for too long." He admits as he offers Keiko his arm, which she takes. "It is good to see you though, Summer. Lionheart's been trying to get ahold of you. Especially after the video he got sent from the village chief almost two and a half weeks ago now."

Summer rolls her eyes in exasperation. "I'm not that hard to get a hold of, and Raven's actually on her way to Mistral with the girls and Sarah. They left two days ago." She replies as she motions to them to follow her while she herself begins walking. "Ruby and Yang have really taken to her, and Mama, Jenna, and Embers have grown on us in just a couple of weeks."

Cooper chuckles as he and his partner follow. "Sarah's adorable, isn't she?" He asks the huntress, who looks over her shoulder at him with a smile.

"Absolutely adorable." She agrees chipperly. "Come on, Mama's checking out the Greater Wyvern's old lair to make sure it's clear, Embers is busy getting that TMM thing ready to move, and I'm busy packing us all up to go too."

Cooper and Keiko both nod in agreement as they continue to follow the huntress through the small village, passing by the silent TMM. Cooper sighs as they do, reminiscing of his own lost Titan, and the fact that he didn't have a chance to save BT's core. If only he could turn back time, especially since he now knows that the amazing machine can indeed rebuild a Titan from scratch.

"So heading to Mistral, huh?" Keiko asks, breaking the brief silence. 

"Mhmm." The rabbit faunus hums as they reach a house, the door opening with a quick swipe of her scroll over a panel next to it. "We almost got burned on this hunt, and we're a bit leary of returning to Vale."

"I hear you there." Cooper replies as he follows her inside, blinking to try to get his eyes to adjust. "They lost another good team recently. No trace of them's been found yet."

Keiko nods. "Rumor around the Guildhall says they took a job from Ozpin personally."

"That's who we took this hunt from." She admits as she leads them to the kitchen. "Coffee or tea?" She asks as she starts to dig in the still unpacked cabinets.

"Coffee for me, tea for Keiko please." Cooper replies as he unclips his helmet and sits down. Keiko nods as she sits next to him, her tail wrapping itself around his waist as she purrs softly for a moment. "Do you have proof Ozpin gave you the job? Just curious." She asks the huntress, who nods.

"Took a screenshot of the contract, and printed it out too." Summer replies as she puts a kettle on to boil. "Birdie took the printout with her to turn over to Lionheart. We're hoping he can get us out of our contract with Vale and into some new ones here."

The pilot nods as he smiles. "Call her real quick and tell her to show it to Augustus Nikos and Alexander Garibaldi. After what happened to his brother last year, Augustus has got it out for Ozpin. He'll have you both cut loose in ten minutes."

"I heard about it, but not much in the way of details." The rabbit woman admits quietly.

"Not much to tell." The cat faunus informs her just as quietly. "He and his entire team went missing during a courtesy hunt for Ozpin and the Valian Council last year. All they ever found of him was his spear and shield, and Lord Nikos's daughter Pyrrha's starting to train with them in his honor." She explains.

Cooper nods. "It's a mess to the point where no one from Vale's being turned down if they have a good record." He adds. "You and Raven though? You two he would snap up in a heartbeat."

Summer's smile reflects the relief she feels as she takes the kettle off the stove and brings it to the table. "Good, cause I know Lionheart wants me to teach at Haven, which I'm definitely interested in considering I now have three little girls to raise."

"Oh?" Cooper raises an eyebrow. "Taking in the legendary Grease Monkey are you?"

The rabbit faunus nods as her smile turns fond. "Like I said, she's adorable. She and Ruby along with Jenna are thick as thieves. And Yang's attached herself to Embers." She adds.

"Mama did right by those two. Hell, by all of them." The pilot chuckles. "Be hard pressed to find a tighter knit group than the Wrecking Crew of the SRS."

Keiko snorts as she sips at her now ready tea. "Be glad I can't introduce you to a guy named Klein. Him and his guild would be able to give them a run for their money."

"Or my old team back in Beacon." Summer adds with a smug smirk of her own.

"Anyway!" The pilot claps his hands together. "What do you need from us, Huntress Rose? Am armed escort, a prepaid flight back to Mistral, both?" He asks seriously as he stands.

Keiko nods in agreement as she stands up beside him. "We'll be proud to give you a hand." She adds.

Summer smiles. "Help with packing and that prepaid flight both sound great actually. But no sense in rushing either, Raven and the girls haven't called to let me know they made it yet, and no place to take all our belongings to either."

"We really can't help there either." Keiko admits as she helps Summer clear out the last of the cookware. "We live in a small loft outside the old faunus district. Not a whole lot of space, especially since someone put in a workbench for weapon maintenance." She adds the last with a glare at Cooper, who's busy talking to another one of those Titan things standing outside the back door.

"We'll figure it out, we always do." Summer reassures her as she places pans, pots, and their lids into a basket. "I have faith that Birdie will get us settled somewhere. And Keiko?"

"Hmmm?"

"Be grateful he cares enough to have that bench. We locals consider it the sign of a real huntsman, one with something to protect." Summer adds as she smiles. "Raven made sure ours was the first thing to get put in that TMM thing before they left."

Keiko nods as she continues to help the rabbit faunus woman, while thinking long and hard about what she said. She knows Coop cares deeply for her, and she the same. But it also shows how far she's come since waking up here, on Remnant and not back in Japan. She still has no idea how she ended up here, since the last thing she remembers is taking a vicious hit from a nasty zone boss while activating a vicious, high level spell of her own. But that was in a game that was supposed to be safe, wasn't it?

"What the fuck?!" Cooper suddenly cries out as a shadow appears overhead, a really big shadow.

Rushing outside, Keiko blinks at the massive vessel hovering above them, while the new Titan laughs.

_ "Hey, y'all need a lift?" _ A man's voice comes across comms, prompting Coop to put his helmet on.

"Jimmy, is that you?!"

_ "One and the same, Cap." _ The pilot chuckles.  _ "Moira and I saw the vid of Mama beating the shit outta that Grimm on ValeTube, and decided to come bug the shit outta her." _

_ "Must you be an insufferable ass, Jimmy?" _ A second, robotic voice declares angrily.

_ "Oh yeah, say hi to Moira, Coop. She finally grew a personality." _ The man's voice adds with a chuckle.

_ "Oh shut up, you bloody git of an idiot! Captain Cooper, would all of you like a lift?" _

"A MRVN with a personality, huh?" The pilot chuckles as he looks up at the hovering Widow transport. "Ain't that some shit? And you might wanna park for now, Jimmy. We aren't ready to leave yet."

_ "Yeah. I love messing with her till I get the mad face." _ The man chuckles as he pilots the Widow away from the town square and north.

_ "Shut up!" _

_ "Whoops! There it is!" _ He declares with a chuckle as Cooper watches the transport land in a spot that looks like a scene from an inferno.

"Sounds like you're playing with fire, Jimmy." Cooper chuckles. 

_ "Better than you playing jump the log with a bunch of Widows and Goblins. _ " The Widow pilot counters as he shuts down the transport.  _ "Ok, Moira, put your best smile on." _

_ "Kiss my purple and pink arse!" _

Keiko Ayano shakes her head as Cooper charges ahead to the massive transport, while the robot in the video follows him. Not for the first time, she wishes she too had friends magically appearing from home. Especially a master smith friend who would love the opportunity to work with so many new materials. Hearing her scroll ring, she smiles at the image on her screen and pushes accept. 

"Hey Asuna! What's up?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_ "Wow." _ Jenna whispers as she sweeps her gaze around the main thoroughfare of Mistral City.  _ "It reminds me of the Chinatown district on Harmony." _ The Titan and her passengers are currently walking down the main avenue of Mistral City, after she left her tracker cannon at the gates.

Sarah nods as she and Ruby both sit in the Tone Prime's cockpit, Raven and Yang held securely in the Titan's hands. "I wonder if they have any good fried rice or sushi?" She muses aloud, making Ruby giggle.

"Mommy and Mama took us someplace with really good cookies the last time we were here!" She declares with a smile.

"You and your cookies, Ruby." Sarah smiles as she brings Jenna to a stop. "Mrs. Raven, we got company." She declares as armed soldiers move to surround the Titan.

_ "Ummm, I'm not comfortable, even if according to my scans these guys wouldn't even scratch what's left of my paint with those rifles." _ The Titan adds as she stays in place, Sarah maintaining control over her.

"I got it. Hold up guys! The big bad robot's with me!" Raven calls out as she hops down from Jenna's hands. "And she's not from Atlas." She adds.

"Of course it's not from Atlas." A tall, red headed man dressed in formal armor and with piercing green eyes declares as he strides up and offers the huntress his hand. He is tall, well built, with handsome features that could belong in any fashion catalogue for the wealthy. "Raven, it's been far too long."

_ "Ahem! She! I'm a girl! Female!"  _ Jenna protests indignantly.  _ "Jeez, why do people act like I need to have tits to be female?!" _

"Language!" Sarah yells, Ruby howling in laughter.

"Sure has Lord Proctor Nikos." She replies as he takes the offered hand, doing her best not to wince at the Mistrali man's grip while also ignoring Jenna's grumbling and complaining. "Listen, anywhere private we can talk? Sum and I, we've made a few decisions and I wanna talk business with you and Lionheart."

Augustus Nikos nods as he motions for his troops to stand down. "I assume you brought Ruby and Yang?" He asks as a tall eight year old girl joins them, one hand fiddling with a circlet around her forehead.

Raven chuckles. "About that." She turns to face the Titan, who is staring at a nearby wolf faunus, who's staring back with a smirk, a little girl hiding behind his own legs. "Come on out you three!" He calls out.

Yang leaps down first before Jenna kneels to open her pilot's compartment to allow Ruby and Sarah to exit, the latter doing so with a flourish. "Taa daa!"

"Showoff!" Yang calls out with a grin before dashing away and to the hiding girl. "Hey Cinny!"

"Hi Yang." She replies quietly as she stares at the Titan. "She's so big."

"You got no room to talk, big sister!" Ruby singsongs before dashing up to Pyrrha giggling. "Hey Pyrrha!"

"Hello Ruby!" She replies back just as enthusiastically as the two hug. "Who's your new friend?"

"That's my new bigger sister Sarah!" Ruby declares as the aforementioned girl removes her helmet and shakes her hair free.

"Hiya! Oh!" She takes note of Augustus looking at her and salutes smartly. "Sir! Pilot Sarah Bogard, sir!"

"Pilot?" Augustus asks Raven, who nods.

"Long story. Pyrrha, you mind taking these three back to your house to play for a bit? Me and your dad gotta go talk with Headmaster Lionheart." Raven asks the young redhead, who nods.

"Yes ma'am! Come on, we got the pool working yesterday! We can go swimming! And Cinder can come too!" She declares happily, getting cheers from Ruby and Yang, and a whimper from Sarah. "Sarah, are you ok?" She asks.

"I don't know how to swim." She admits quietly as she digs the toe of her boot into the ground behind her.

"We can teach you!" Ruby declares as she rushes over and grabs her hand to pull her along.

"Yeah! I'm an awesome swimmer!" Yang adds as she grabs the charcoal black haired wolf girl's hand. "Come on, Cinny! You and Pyr both can teach her! Both of you are awesome swimmers too!"

"Is it ok, Daddy?" The wolf faunus girl with the burning amber eyes asks the giant quietly, getting a smile and a nod.

"Shoo pup, go hang out with your friends." He rumbles as he leans down and ruffles her hair.

"Yay!" She cheers as she and the blonde join the other girls.

Pyrrha blushes. "I'm adequate enough." She mutters in embarrassment. "Oh wait! Daddy! You forgot that Gabrielle Schnee is coming with Winter, Weiss, and Willow! They're bringing the new baby for Mama and Aunt Asuna to see."

"Really?! Let's go then!" Ruby declares happily as she starts to push them along. "Bye Mommy! Bye Mr. Nikos!"

The Lord Proctor and the Huntress both start to chuckle at the little reddish black haired rabbit child's antics as the four older girls get pushed, prodded, and cajole in the direction of the Lord Proctor's surprisingly modest home.

"So much energy." Augustus smiles.

Raven nods. "And her and Sum both are morning people. Yang and Sarah? Takes lightning dust loaded tasers to get them out of bed."

Augustus chuckles before looking at her. "We already received word of what these Titans did against a Greater Wyvern." He begins as he looks at Jenna, who's still staring at the wolf faunus. "Alexander? Join us?"

Alexander Garibaldi chuckles as he moves away from the Tone Prime and walks over. The Guildleader of the Mistrali Huntsmen's Guild is seven feet tall and seemingly made of hardened muscle, while his hazel eyes look amused. He is dressed in jeans, heavy brown work boots, and a plain grey shirt. Stopping next to Augustus, he grins down at them both as he scratched his chin, a day's worth of stubble covering it. "Raven, I got a new contract already waiting for ya. I'd say Sum too, but Leo's ready to offer that woman the shattered moon itself ta get her teaching at Haven."

"Why not me?" She asks jokingly as she takes a flask off her hip and takes a sip. "Tea, not booze. Sum would kill me if I started drinking again."

"Raven, half your students would be dead in a week. The other half? Too traumatized." Augustus deadpans, making the huntress wince.

"Sounds like you've been talking to Sum." She admits.

"She is friends with Athena, Asuna, and Gabrielle." He points out with a smug smirk.

"Anywho, guessing you guys missed Coop. Sent him out to go make contact for himself this morning." Alex explains. "But with you here now, saves me the trouble of having him drag y'all back."

"Look, I wanna do this in private, but I'm still gonna be blunt. We lost all our faith in Ozpin with this one, and we want out of Vale. We could have gotten killed." She informs them both bluntly. "And there's no one who could have taken care of the girls if we had."

Augustus nods. "Alex, you speak with Huntress Branwen. As Guildmaster, you can force through her transfer. I believe I wish to speak to…"

_ "My designator is JEC-9718. But everyone calls me Jenna." _ The Tone Prime introduces herself.  _ "And according to my info dump, you're Lord Proctor Augustus Nikos, head of the Mistrali military. Mom figured you'd want to talk to us." _

He nods as he smiles, a look of amusement in his brilliant green eyes. "Jack Cooper was correct. He warned me that you are free thinking individuals and not to underestimate any of you."

_ "Coop's here?" _ She growls as her core begins to sweep from side to side.  _ "I owe him a kick to the dick!" _

"Language!" Raven roars.

_ "Fuck off! The girls aren't around!" _

"Still heard you potty mouth!" Ruby calls out in the distance.

"Before you do so, I would like to speak to you Miss Jenna." Augustus cuts off the impending argument he sees coming. "Needless to say, I am very interested in adding you to my forces."

_ "Then let's talk, sir." _ She replies as she stands.  _ "We're here, and Mom said if we could hook up with an actual military, we would definitely get more work. So lead the way, Sir." _

Augustus Nikos nods as he begins walking towards the nearby Mistrali military complex, the Titan following behind him. Ever since he took command of Mistral's sadly lacking military, he has been working hard to rebuild and upgrade their elderly weapons and vehicles. And now with these Titans here and willing to negotiate? He finally feels like this is his chance to finally be able to protect the people that have placed their trust in him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sarah's exhausted. Ruby has been her usual ball of energy self, especially once that Weiss girl and her sisters showed up at the Nikos compound with their really pretty stepmom, Gabrielle. But to her surprise, Weiss allowed herself to be monopolized by the rabbit faunus, the snow leopard easily getting Ruby under control. The entire day itself has been great, other than she misses Summer and Mama both really bad, not used to being separated from the Titan who's been raising her for the past four years, as well as the faunus woman who's stepped up to the challenge. But, her father always taught her to be thankful for her blessings, and now that night has fallen and Athena Nikos, Pyrrha's mother has declared they're all staying the night, she needs to be sure that she thanks God for all her new friends.

"Hey." Sarah looks up from next to her bed, where she had been praying silently. Willow, Weiss's twin sister is looking at her with a shy smile. And once again, she blushes a deep red as she looks into the snow leopard's red eyes. "What are you doing?" She asks quietly.

"Praying." The blonde replies as she moves up to sit on her borrowed bed. "I noticed no one else really does at night."

Willow smiles as she sits next to her, ignoring the growing blush. "My sisters and I pray in the mornings. Our mum doesn't though."

"Oh. Ummmm." She tilts her head back to think, her tongue poking out between her lips cutely. "The Goddess of Light, right?"

"Mhmm. But you must worship her sister."

"Nuh uh. I'm Catholic." The pilot replies firmly.

"Cothlic?" The snow leopard asks in confusion.

"No silly, Catholic. It's the name of my religion." Sarah giggles. "One of the oldest religions in human history."

"Oh. Even the humans of Remnant worship the Goddesses Three." Willow begins to patiently explain the legend of the Two Brothers, their daughters who took their places, and the sister created to keep them in check as Balance. "And that's pretty much it."

"You're really smart." Sarah smiles shyly at her.

"So are you, Grease Monkey." Cooper declares as he stands in the doorway, his arms already open.

"UNCLE COOP!" She declares happily as she runs into his arms, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry about protocols four and five. Mama made sure to override them once you were safely away." He informs her as he holds the blonde haired girl, who nods.

"I understood, Uncle Coop." She replies quietly. "But Jenna's mad at you still."

"Hello, Captain Cooper." Willow calls out with a smile.

"Hey there, Willow. Keeping the best damned tech in the Militia company?" He asks, getting a shy smile and nod in return. He takes note of the way her ears are folded back, as well as the way her tail is curled around her and smiles. "Good, she needs good friends."

"I want to be her friend. She's interesting." The snow leopard admits quietly. But then she winces as Cooper howls in pain, Sarah having punched him squarely in his no no. 

"YOU STILL ORDERED THEM TO KILL ME!"

"OH GOD I'M SO SORRY!"

"Huh. Someone other than Alex who can bring Coop down? He's going to love this." A woman's voice declares. Turning around, she smiles up at the elegantly dressed auburn haired woman holding Cinder, who's tail is wagging in her delight as a teenaged girl with long black hair and grey eyes stands next to her.

"Hey Aunt Asuna! Hey Yui!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Gabrielle Schnee is a short, beautiful woman with shoulder length blonde hair and dressed casually in jeans and a blouse. Her facial features are perhaps a bit too angular for some people's tastes, and she's surprisingly thin considering she's recently had a child she and her husband named Whitley. But she adores the three faunus girls she has claimed as her own, as well as their father, and works hard to be the best mother she can possibly be to them.

She's come a long way from her past as the IMC's Goddess, General Marder's daughter as well as his top infiltration specialist.

Many are the sins she committed by her father's command. Many are the lives she took on his order. But even she had lines she would never cross, including the harming of innocent civilians. And when he ordered the release of his plague on MSHM-03, she tried and failed to stop it and him. She too became a victim of the virus, dying along with the people she tried and failed to save.

She and her Titan, Dutchess, both had been surprised to wake up here on Remnant. She and her Ronin Custom had been found by workers from a nearby SDC mine, and brought back to Atlas proper by Ironwood himself. Unfortunately, Dutchess is still too badly damaged to return to battle, having lost an arm and both legs being mangled by an ARES Legion. She herself attended Atlas Academy, where she had met Jacques Schnee. She had been surprised when he proposed to her after a brief courtship, and she had fallen in love with his three little girls. They made her realize she too could have a better life, and after a life altering event one night, even her husband has changed for the better. Her only regret is not beingable to return to the battle alongside her loyal Titan, who never hesitated in turning her Buster Sword against her brother and his own Titan, Duke, to try and save a world in grave danger.

But now she stares in wide eyed wonder at the Widow transport offloading the object of her Father's desires at a nearby hangar: The Titan Mobile Maintenance. She, as well as Sarah's entire planet had died for his greed and jealousy, and seeing it as well as the little girl he coveted for her burgeoning genius, has made her come to several decisions.

Dutchess will soon be on her way, being brought aboard an SDC airship. She's already informed her husband as well as Klein that she will be gone for several days, in order to beg that her Titan be repaired. She has a mission, one that she is willing to die for, and her pride be damned. She needs her Ronin, so that she can protect her daughters and newborn son with all the strength she can bring to bear against anyone who threatens them. She smiles down at the sleeping infant

in her arms. "Whitley, hopefully Mommy can be a pilot again." She whispers softly. "And then, Mommy can hold her head up with pride once more, fighting for what is right, and not because of your grandfather's greed…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A Brief Side Story: The Dragon Princess

Keiko Ayano pants as she glares hatefully at the World Tree's guardians. For the past few months, everyone from SAO has worried for Kirito, who has yet to wake up, along with three hundred other players. They have all taken turns keeping watch over the young man who saved all their lives, even though the price of his victory was high.

The nurse who was in Asuna's room told her that she can still remember the young woman dying with a smile on her face, before her body simply vanished, as if it never existed.

She was one of the first Agil sent the picture to, the bar owner and fellow SAO survivor knowing she owes the Black Swordsman a huge debt. The image of Kirito in chains, trapped within a giant bird's cage had enraged the almost fifteen year old girl to the point of recklessness. 

But the pride of the Samurai, the pride and standards her family have held themselves to since before the Meiji Era are awake and undeniably strong in the teenager, and her own father even told her it is time to repay her debt to him. 

She never hesitated to log into Alfheim Online, creating a Cait Sith account in a moment of sentimentality for her lost Pina. She learned quickly how to fly without the controller as she struggled to reach the World Tree with only the enigmatic Strea and her best friend Lizbeth, while a Spriggan girl named Leafa taught her how the magic system works. Along the way, she met the leaders of the Spriggan and Cait Sith races, fought beside them as they repulsed a Salamander attack led by their general, a brilliant fighter named Eugene, and kept pushing forward as one thought kept running through her mind:

Asuna gave her life to save him. She is willing to do no less to save the young man who saved them all.

The reunion between them and several hundred former SAO members was bittersweet, as the Assault Team had arrived en mass. All to rescue their savior and repay their own debts. She greeted Klein warmly, the Furinkazan leader having taken her under his wing after her adventures with the Black Swordsman. She laughs as several members of the old Aincrad Liberation Front recall Asuna and Kirito's trip to the Town of Beginnings, where the Flash had routed a group of them picking on a group of children.

She cries a bit when the Knights of the Blood Oath swear to rescue Kirito no matter the cost, in honor of Asuna's own great sacrifice.

Silica was one of the first fighters through the massive doors, Lisbeth, Strea, and Leafa by her side. She kept fighting even as others fell and were replaced, a grim determination pushing her onward. She caught all the words of Rekon's Sacrifice Spell, which he cast to save a group of Undine healers who were under heavy attack, and was mumbling them constantly to make sure she gets them right herself. She has a plan, a crazy one, but one that may work to get them through. Dodging more arrows, she begins to fly upward as rapidly as possible, aiming for the largest grouping of the Guardians, which are glitching.

"Silica! No wait! Come back!" Lisbeth screams as she holds a hand out to her. "Leafa said to fall back! The game's glitching!"

"Get to Kirito!" She yells back as she uses the knife she won in a mob battle while passing through Legrue to cut her way through, aiming for the heart of the Guardian swarm. "I'll catch up when I respawn!"

"Silica! ALO is unstable! We're pushing the system too hard!" Strea cries out as she tries to catch up, the rapidly spawning mobs already blocking the way. "It's going to crash!"

Ignoring them as she keeps cutting a path forward, she finally comes to a stop in the center, the Guardians twitching and spasming as their sprites keep breaking up and reforming. Now's her chance, while the system is too busy trying to keep the swarms active and constantly multiplying even in the face of the veteran clearers, who are still bringing them down with ease.

_ "Ekku karra suvaruto tugāri..."  _ She begins to chant as a larger than normal black armored Guardian streaks towards her, a sword in hand and the mob acting as if it is more than prepared to run her through to stop her. She needs to hurry! " _ Berufa himun, burotto regin, gāpa nīzafōru!" _

Her eyes widen in surprise as the sword penetrates her armor, her computerized flesh, and exits out her back. But she smirks as the spell continues to activate, a glow surrounding her as well as the Black Armored Guardian. "Too late…" She mutters as she feels herself starting to derez. 

She starts screaming a moment later at the sudden pain in both her wound as well as her head. 

_ "Do not fear, for you will not be dying today, Keiko Ayano."  _ A feminine voice declares as the first smaller explosions begin, the sheer beauty of it almost bringing her to tears. The glitching Guardians begin to break apart from the growing epicenter, the black armored one simply disintegrating.  _ "But we see this as the flesh you will need, and are making it real, and not a construct of ones and zeros." _

_ "For your courage, for your willingness to sacrifice yourself to save your friends, you have been chosen for a far greater purpose."  _ A second woman's voice informs her, an almost musical tone to it. The pain in her chest and head start to lessen until they vanish as if they never existed. _ "To defend a world that desperately needs warriors of your caliber and convictions." _

_ "Now, close your eyes child."  _ A third female voice declares, her voice a somber counterpoint to the others.  _ "When you awaken, you will be in good company with one you remember well, along with the child of her soul and the new family she has made for herself in your new home." _

She does so, while feeling a warmth beginning to fill her. "Goodbye Liz…" She whispers as the full detonation of her Sacrifice rips into the World Tree itself, the strength of Silica's desires both freeing the trapped three hundred SAO survivors as well as Kirito, while crashing all the ALO servers.

Keiko Ayano was prepared to sacrifice herself to save the others, to save Kirito, despite the fact that the game world she was in was failing. A Trio of Goddesses took note of her courage, and brought her to a new home, a new life, and a future next to another who is just as much a stranger in a strange new land as she is, and all while being welcomed by a woman long thought dead...

  
  



	4. The Return of a Legend, A Daughter's Confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya everyone! Wyn here with another exciting chapter of RWBYFall! So, real life is forcing me to change up my posting schedules, so I won't have a real schedule anymore. I am so sorry! I hate having to adult sometimes! But! I am not stopping any of my stories either, and have a few things in store for everyone as well! So sit back, enjoy this chapter of RWBYFall, and see you next time!

Cooper smiles as he looks up at the now fully extended TMM, even as once again he wishes he had been able to save his brave Vanguard's core. Sarah has worked day and night to set up the machine in a donated hangar on the edge of the Mistrali military's air force base, and he can't help but to be impressed. The construction bay is now supplemented with a repair bay, and the whole thing has already been retrofitted to work off the native power supply. She even has a van sized device hooked up to it, which she is currently loading large amounts of metals native to Remnant into.

All in all, just like the device itself, Sarah has worked miracles in the week since Augustus formally invited the Titans to serve in Mistral's military. And he looks on with pride as Remnant's only fully certified Titan mechanic finishes the last of her work and closes the van sized object up while grinning. "Okie dokie, all set!" She declares as she wipes her hands with an already filthy rag. 

"Oi! Grease Monkey!" The man calls out as he grins. "Summer's looking for you. Something about clothes shopping."

"Been busy, Uncle Coop." The girl replies as she walks up, a grin on her face. "But it's ready to go! Just have to decide who to rebuild next."

_ "Me…" _

"Sounds like a tough call." Cooper chuckles as he looks at the device again. "Can you build a Vanguard?"

"Nah, missing some of the protocols." She admits quietly. "I don't think Daddy had enough time to install them."

_ "Senior Tech… I have all my protocols…" _

"Did you say something?" The blonde asks as she looks around. 

"Who, me?" The pilot turned huntsman asks as he points to himself. "I haven't said anything."

_ "Senior Tech… I need to return to duty… Cooper and Keiko need me… My pilot and his spouse need my help..." _

"Ok, definitely hearing someone talk. Hello? Who are you?" She calls out as Cooper just shakes his head.

_ "I am BT-7274... I am uploaded into Pilot Cooper's helmet… Protocol Three…" _

"Protect the Pilot…" Sarah suddenly snatches Cooper's helmet off of his belt with a grin, turning it over and over in her hands as she begins to glow softly. "Are you serious?!" She declares excitedly. "Coop! It's BT! He's in your helmet!" She whoops in triumph as she dashes to the TMM and sits on a stool.

"Huh?!" He replies in confusion as the young girl plugs his helmet into the TMM and starts to type frantically. "No way! I lost BT at Typhon!" He stammers out, even as he feels a bit of hope begin to rise in his chest.

"No you didn't!" She singsongs back as she pushes enter and looks up at the construction bay. "Tada! And I finally have the missing protocols for a Vanguard class!"

Jack Cooper can't help but to stare as a frame begins to be assembled using local metals, while a familiar and much missed voice suddenly booms over the speakers.

_ "Greetings, Pilot Jack Cooper. I am glad to see you well." _ BT declares as a core begins to be constructed in a small off to the side rectangular cube. 

"Good to see you too, BT. It's been a long five years." Cooper replies as he begins to smile a rare, genuine smile since arriving on this crazy planet.

"So which giant robot is this?" Augustus asks as he walks up, Pyrrha rushing over to hug Sarah.

"Sir, I want you to meet the best damned Vanguard class from the Militia. BT-7274." Cooper announces proudly.

_ "Greetings sir. Unfortunately, I cannot salute you at the moment." _

The Lord Proctor chuckles. "It's fine, BT. I am not one who stands on as many protocols as my wife. I am a soldier, a huntsman, and a father." He declares the last with great pride as he smiles fondly at Sarah and Pyrrha, who are chatting excitedly. "Especially a father."

"Well said, sir." Cooper smiles as he leans against an odd looking device.

"Get the fuck off the nanolathe!" Sarah screams at him, before taking a lien out of her pocket and putting it in a jar. 

"Sarah…" Pyrrha glares at her.

"Please get the fuck off the nanolathe?" She rephrases herself as she puts another lien in the jar.

"A swear jar? Really Monkey?" Cooper chuckles as he examines the device that has been carefully modified into the TMM. "And is this an honest to God nanolathe? Like, an actual Sobani one?"

_ "That is impressive, Senior Tech Bogard. The Sobani have always refused to deal with both the IMC as well as the Militia." _ BT adds as his central eye begins to form.

The blonde girl nods as she dashes over to the van sized device that is humming as it works on extruding pre-shaped metals that manipulator arms are moving into pre-programed positions, where miniaturized arc welders are already fusing them together. "We stayed with them for a year. We lost Frost to a nuke strike." She pauses as she looks at a satchel hanging right above the coffee machine she hardwired into the giant machine. "But they taught me alot about their tech, and made sure I knew how to build my own nanolathe and how to get it working."

The older pilot and the Lord Proctor both nod as they watch BT continue to be reconstructed. "This is an amazing machine." Augustus finally admits.

"Sarah, can you even build new cores?" Cooper asks quietly, surprised at the answering nod.

"Yeah." She replies quietly. "My semblance lets me do it, otherwise there's no way I can. To be honest? My semblance showed me how to extend out the second bay, how to confirm repairs and maintenance, even how to build spare cores to backup all the Titans. It's almost…"

"Almost?" Pyrrha tilts her head in confusion.

"It's almost like Daddy knew this would happen." She whispers as tears come to her eyes. "Cause even if Marder got a hold of it, it wouldn't have worked for him. Only me."

Pyrrha hugs her again as Augustus kneels down, smiling as he looks the young pilot in her eyes. "Here in Mistral, we consider it an honor to use the weapons of our ancestors. We believe that they are still present within them, aiding us, guiding us, and protecting us. This is your father's legacy, passed onto you, his beloved daughter, because it is his way of guiding you towards your own destiny." Reaching up, he ruffles her hair affectionately. "Now, Summer is looking for you. You begin school here tomorrow, and she wishes to take you shopping."

"School?! But I don't wanna go to school!"

"Sorry kiddo. Even I had to attend Haven when I first got here." Cooper informs her with a chuckle. "Only had to do a year though."

"Just like I had to do a year in Atlas." A woman's voice declares calmly. Everyone turns to look at the source, which is a shorter woman dressed in an all black pilot's suit, the emblem of ARES division over her heart. Her jump kit is a lighter grey color, as well as her helmet, and she is visibly unarmed.

"Who are you lady? And bad choice in gear!" Cooper calls out as he pulls his pistol and aims it at her. "What's your name?"

"My callsign is… Goddess." She admits quietly, her helmeted head turning away in apparent shame. "And my Titan is Dutchess, a Ronin customized for my use."

Sarah stares at the pilot in pure rage. "YOU! You killed Zoie!" She shrieks as she gets held back by Pyrrha and Augustus. "You and Gabriel both! It was her wedding day! It was my birthday! YOU KILLED EVERYONE I LOVED ON MY PLANET!"

_ "Monkey!"  _ Mama roars as she and Embers assist a grey with yellow trimmed Ronin into the hangar.  _ "Chill out!" _

_ "Wow, haven't seen sis this mad since Harmony."  _ Embers whispers.

_ "Hush Firebug." _

_ "Greetings Mama." _

_ "B-BT?!" _

"Miss Bogard, please. Please give me a chance to explain myself." Goddess begs. "Please?"

_ "Senior Tech Bogard."  _ Dutchess calls out formally as the two heavyweights set her down to lean against her remaining arm, Mama moving towards BT slowly.  _ "I am sorry. I am truly sorry for what happened to your planet and your family. But my Pilot and I? We tried to stop Gabriel and Marder when we realized he was about to use the virus against your people. And we were killed for our actions." _

_ "BT? Please say it's really you." _

_ "Hello Mom. As you can see, I'm in rough shape." _

_ "Thank the Creator! My boy's home!" _

Sarah stops struggling as she stares at the Titan, then her pilot. "Bullshit." She replies bitterly, while Cooper puts a lien in the swear jar for her.

"It started with a cough, along with a feeling like your throat is covered in sand." Goddess begins as she walks over to her damaged Titan, laying a hand on her mangled armor. "The cough only gets worse, but you can ignore the sand part because then you watch as your stomach distends, like if you were being filled with fluids. But it's not that, it's your organs being liquified. I…"

While everyone else looks at her in confusion, Sarah's face is filling with a look of horror as she covers her mouth with her hands. "Oh God…"

"I prayed, Pilot Bogard." Goddess turns to look at her. "For the first time in my life, I prayed as I sat inside Dutchess, who had been mangled by one of my father's Legions so we couldn't escape. I prayed for forgiveness for all my sins, I prayed for the pain to end, even as I accepted it as my punishment. And suddenly, I felt the need to close my eyes. To close my eyes and accept my fate."

"And you woke up here?" Cooper asks quietly as Pyrrha holds a sobbing Sarah, who is no doubt reliving the hell of watching her planet die.

"In Atlas." She confirms quietly. "Around four years ago now. I attended Atlas Academy, became a Specialist and have been searching for a way to repair Dutchess. And when I watched you all off load the TMM here, I knew I needed to send for her, to beg you on my hands and knees if I must to restore her. We have a mission again."

"To what, conquer this world?" Sarah replies bitterly as Pyrrha wipes her face clean. 

"To protect my children."

_ "Senior Tech Bogard, my pilot and I both died with regrets. What we did was wrong, everything we did in Marder's name is unforgivable. And for that, for the actions of myself and my pilot, I will always have regrets." _ Dutchess replies quietly.  _ "But Goddess and I have a new mission, and that is to protect her family. A mission I cannot uphold in my current condition. Please, I'm begging you Senior Tech Bogard. Please, repair me so I can uphold my new mission alongside my pilot." _

"Please?" Goddess also whispers through her helmet's comm. "I… was wrong. I was wrong about so many different things, Sarah. I was in the wrong, and I have nightmares of all I did in my father's name as one of his pet monsters."

"Why should I believe you?" The blonde huffs as she folds her arms across her chest and looks away. But she looks back after Augustus and Cooper both gasp in surprise, and blinks as Gabrielle Schnee looks back at her sadly, her helmet in her hands.

"Because I will die before I allow Winter, Weiss, Willow, and Whitley to come to any harm." The older woman declares firmly. "Dutchess and I both will."

"Something tells me there's an interesting story here." Cooper admits as Sarah keeps staring at her and Dutchess both.

"There is." She admits quietly. "My life began to change only a few months after I married Jacques. To be honest, I considered his indifference a part of my penance. I knew he married me because I have a weak semblance, and I was also still weak in spirit. But I realized my true purpose at dinner one night…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Ah!" Weiss squeals as she spills her juice on the table. "I'm sorry!"

Gabrielle smiles as she stands. "It's fine, Weiss. It's only a bit of juice." She tries to reassure her new stepdaughter, even as she takes an offered towel from Klein and begins to clean it up. 

"Weiss!" Jacques barks out as he puts down his tablet to glare at the little snow leopard faunus. "Must I deal with your clumsiness even at dinner?"

"I'm sorry Daddy." She whimpers as she tries to hide behind the taller blonde woman, who is staring at Jacques oddly. 

"Come here." He barks out as he continues to glare at her. "And stop snivelling. A Schnee doesn't snivel!"

Weiss nods as she walks over slowly, her entire body trembling in terror. But only Klein watches as Gabrielle also begins to tremble in fear, her hand moving to grab at something behind her blouse. But all of them, children, servants, even Jacques jump in alarm as a gunshot is heard just as the Schnee Patriarch raises his hand to strike his daughter in anger. They all look at Gabrielle, who has an odd revolver in both her hands, her eyes now full of rage.

"Put your hand down." She orders almost too calmly as she locks her gaze with her husband's. "You will not touch her in anger, do you understand me?"

"Gabrielle, do you realize who you're threatening?" He asks as a second gunshot echoes in the dining room, a piece of his chair simply coming apart from the bullet.

"I won't let you hurt them, Jacques. I won't. I will kill you like I wish I could have killed my father." She replies quietly but firmly, even as the barrel of her gun moves slightly to aim directly at him next. "Please, please don't make me do this."

Jacques looks at her, then at Weiss, who has messed herself and looks ready to die of embarrassment and terror, then at his other two daughters, who are trembling in terror as they hold one another.

He watches as Willow tugs violently at her hair, just as his own sister Kate used to as he took the brunt of his own father's anger and rage for her. Kate married a good man, the current combat instructor of Beacon Academy, who makes her feel as safe as he once did, and like she is worthy of being loved.

Jacques Brandstelle nee Schnee begins to realize that he is becoming his father, who became bitter and hateful after the death of his mother. He is becoming the same way, and has been since the death of his beloved Adaliz, who died to bring the twins into the world. He has even taken his anger out at his children's people, the faunus, because he has never been able to come to terms with Ada's death. He even considers his marriage to Gabrielle more of a business arrangement, seeing as how she was willing to take on the responsibility of the three girls as their mother figure, one they have needed desperately.

And here she is, performing her duties by protecting Weiss from his anger, his sadness, his pain. She is genuine in her threats to end him, and he knows the courts here in Atlas will protect her since she was acting in the defense of a child, despite that child being a faunus. A child who did nothing to deserve his anger. 

His beloved Ada gave her life to make sure the twins would have theirs, and he has punished them for it.

Looking at Weiss, he does something he has not done in her five years of life, and smiles sadly at her as he pulls the younger of the twins into a hug. "I'm sorry Weiss." He whispers as he keeps holding the frightened faunus girl, grateful that she finally returns the hug hesitantly at first.

"It's… it's ok Daddy." She whispers back.

"No Weiss, it's not ok." The businessman replies as he looks at his other two daughters. "I have not been the father you three deserve. I… admit I have been punishing you all for your mother's death, which has been wrong of me."

"You used to be different." Winter agrees as she and Willow approach slowly, the younger girl still tugging at her hair, while hiding behind her older sister. "You used to play with me, read me stories, take me to play. You used to be a good Daddy until Mommy died." The nine year old declares.

The man nods as he reaches over slowly and brings the older of his twin daughters out from behind her sibling. Gently, the businessman removes Willow's hands from her hair and holds them in both of his. "I must change. For all of you, I must change. For Gabrielle, I must change."

"Me?" She asks in surprise as she finally lowers her weapon. 

"Gabrielle, I believe you and I both need to seek help." Jacques declares firmly as he stands. "We… we all need you. The girls adore you, I am fond of you, so we need you to be whole of mind and spirit as well." 

The former ARES division commander nods as she sets her pistol on the table and moves forward. "I love these three." She declares with a smile as she moves to stand with her hands on Winter and Willow's shoulders. "And you… I'm growing fond of you as well." She admits with a blush.

"Then it's settled." Jacques Schnee declares as he looks at his family. "Klein, find us the best therapist in Atlas. This family must be made whole once more."

"Of course, Sir." Klein replies with pride as he watches them all hug, Gabrielle and Jacques sharing a brief kiss…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So that's why Jacques changed." Summer declares, having arrived during the story.

Gabrielle nods as she smiles with pride. "He's a good man, Summer. And working hard to become a better one every day. And I am working hard to move past my own childhood, my own past."

Sarah walks up slowly to the older woman, taking her helmet gently from her. "I may never forgive you." She admits quietly as she examines it. 

"I am prepared for that. It's well within your rights not to." She replies quietly. "But I won't fail them, little one. I failed you, once upon a time. I failed you by taking your childhood away because I was ordered to, and in the end, I died when your planet did, because I chose to fight to stop him."

"I got some upgrades for your helmet. I swapped both of ours over to the CCT network, and beefed up our HUDs." She informs the woman before looking at Mama with a sad smile. "Mama? Can you and Embers help Dutchess into the TMM's repair bay?"

_ "Nice rising above, Monkey."  _ The Titan congratulates her as she helps the damaged Ronin back to her feet.  _ "Been a while, huh?" _

_ "I truly am sorry for your last pilot, BLP-1124."  _ The Ronin looks downwards in her own shame.

_ "Bah, call me Mama."  _ The Legion Prime chuckles as she assists the TMM in locking down the Ronin.  _ "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, got it?" _

_ "Understood." _

Gabrielle looks up at her Ronin, a look of deep sadness on her face. "I will never be my father's lapdog again." She whispers as the TMM begins to strip Dutchess of her battered and twisted armor. But she jumps when Sarah places a hand on her's.

"Then rise above, Mrs. Schnee." The blonde girl looks up at her with a sad smile of her own. "Cause I guess you got sent here to find a family of your own, huh?"

"I think so, little one. No, I know so." 

"Okie. But Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"You can call me Sarah. And I think I'm falling for Willow."

Gabrielle chuckles as she looks at the youngest Titan pilot. "Then I need to finish your training. If you wish to be worthy of the kindest and gentlest of my daughters, then you must be more than prepared to defend her."

"Uh, I'm a pilot. I can train her." Cooper offers as he raises a hand, only to lower it slowly slowly at the former IMC commander's gaze.

"I am a master level Pilot, Cooper. And by the time I'm done, you and Sarah here will be as well." She declares firmly. "Do what you need to do with my helmet, Sarah. But remove anything associated with the ARES division please?"

She nods. "Should have it ready around the same time as Dutchess." She replies as she turns it over in her hands. "Mrs. Schnee… I…"

The woman smiles as she kneels down to look the younger girl in the eyes. "Sarah, we are still warriors in a world that needs warriors. No, scratch that. We are Titan pilots, the first and best line of defense against the enemies of the people, who are the Grimm as well as anyone who dares threaten the peace. These are the oaths I took for granted and eventually ignored. Oaths I will never take for granted ever again, ok?"

She nods. "Is it weird that I like Willow?"

"You had to grow up too quickly, little one. And while not a bad thing, you do need to focus on being a child a little bit more too. But if you still feel this way when the two of you come of age, then pursue her with my blessings." Gabrielle smiles. "Now, about that training."

Cooper chuckles. "May have to wait until we get back. We took an assignment for Lord Proctor Nikos to hunt down some sort of super Grimm called a Nuckelavee."

"As in you and Sarah?"

"No, I can't go. I start school tomorrow." She pouts.

"Mhmm." Summer hums. "Yang and Ruby started today, so don't feel singled out kiddo."

"Me and Mama." He clarifies. "Unless you want to tag along?" He offers.

She shakes her head. "I'm terrible with any heavyweights. And Gabriel hogged Duke."

"Duke?" Cooper and Sarah both ask curiously.

She nods. "Duke is… was a Vanguard class we stole from Harmony before it was destroyed. Gabriel took him over once he was reprogrammed. I've had Dutchess since pilot's training."

Sarah blinks as Cooper groans. "That was that Monarch style Titan Mama and Shadow reported." He admits.

"As far as I know, Duke is destroyed, and my brother dead. Both by my own hand." The pilot declares firmly. 

"Actually Mrs. Schnee, we fought Duke and your brother right before we came here." The blonde admits quietly. 

_ "Last time we saw them though, Blisk and his Apex Predators had just turned on him and Marder both."  _ Mama continues.  _ "He hit us with the fold device not long after that." _

Gabrielle sighs as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "My brother is worse than an Alabama tick." She mutters darkly. "I am certified for Tones and Ions. I would be more than happy to pilot Jenna, if she is willing."

_ "Jenna! You're up!" _ Mama calls out. " _ Embers, stay put here on guard duty." _

_ "Yes!"  _ The Tone Prime cheers as the Scorch Prime groans.

_ "I don't want to stay here!" _

_ "At least you have me for company, Sister."  _ BT offers _. _

_ "Oh shut up!" _ Embers replies angrily.

Summer nods. "I'm going to tag along too. Keiko and I both."

"The more the merrier." Cooper agrees with a firm nod of his head. "And Jimmy can give us a ride in the Widow."

"Oh, Sarah? Do you have the protocols to construct MRVNs, Specters, and Reapers?" The older blonde asks the younger, who shakes her head.

"Moira won't let me anywhere near her, so no. Just all the standard Titans along with Prime level upgrades."

Gabrielle smirks as she takes a flash drive from her pocket and presents it to her. "Here. Everything you need to make them, as well as the designs for the Widow, Gremlin, and artillery based land defenses. Oh, as well as closer range gun emplacements that can be incorporated into Mistral City's existing walls."

Augustus looks at her as Sarah takes the flash drive with a smile. "Why us, Mrs. Schnee? Why not give it to Atlas instead?"

"I actually tried last year." She admits to the Lord Proctor. "But Jim Ironwood refused them. He claims Atlas's technology is superior to ours."

Summer snorts. "That's bullshit." She declares as she walks over and slips a lien into the jar. "Mama alone can kick the cookies out of anything Jimmy can field."

"I agree, and so does Jacques." Gabrielle nods as she smiles. "Mistral will benefit greatly from the addition of IMC and Militia technology, Lord Proctor. And, I can rest easy knowing it's in Sarah's capable hands."

"Yup!" She replies as she plugs the flash drive in before returning to working on the former commander's helmet. Glancing back up, she oooos. "Even weapons! Hey, I can finally fix my Wingman! Ooooo, data knives!"

"No, you're coming with me, young lady." Summer declares as she grabs the blonde and begins to drag her away. "You need school clothes, supplies, and a trim to fix this hack job on your hair."

"No wait! I gotta get her helmet ready!" Sarah protests as she struggles and fails to free herself from her rabbit faunus mother. "In the black cabinet! There's a quick link for your jump kit! I'll finish your helmet when I can! Sooooooorrrrrryyyyyy!" She cries out before they vanish around the corner, Pyrrha following behind them and laughing hysterically.

Cooper, Augustus, and Gabrielle all laugh as the woman retrieves the aforementioned quick link kit, blinking at the fact that Sarah has even managed to incorporate a comm and small eye loop HUD. "She's a genius." 

Cooper nods. "She is. I doubt school's going to do much for her."

Augustus nods before turning to the blonde woman. "Gabrielle, thank you. Mistral thanks you." He declares as he places a fist to his heart and bows.

"This is me making amends for my sins, Augustus." She replies as she smiles sadly. "I cost Sarah her home once, I would be remiss to not help her defend this one." She turns to look at Cooper. "So when do we leave? Jacques and Klein are aware that I will be gone for a few more days, so I'm free to help."

Cooper nods. "First thing in the morning. Jimmy's fixing a hydraulic line that busted, and should be almost done now."

Gabrielle Schnee nods as she smiles. "It's been far too long since I've had a proper Titanfall, Coop. And to make it better, I'm fighting for a greater purpose now."

Jack Cooper nods as he looks at BT. "Sorry pal, you gotta sit this one out."

_ "Acknowledged, Pilot Cooper. You will be in good hands with Mama." _

_ "Damned straight he will." _ Mama declares even as she uses a small repair clamp to drop a lien in the jar, making everyone laugh. 

But Augustus Nikos, who has struggled to keep the people of Mistral safe since becoming Lord Proctor is grateful. He finally feels like his people will stand a fighting chance of reclaiming their lands from the Grimm…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Asuna!" The auburn haired woman looks up at the calling out of her name and smiles as she sees Summer approaching, dragging that Sarah girl behind her, while Pyrrha brings up the rear. Shaking her head as she chuckles, she stands with a grace that many women find enviable and closes the gap, her smile brightening. 

"Summer, I take it we're ready to go shopping?" She asks calmly, the little blonde once again staring curiously at her.

"She desperately needs clothes." The rabbit faunus replies as she releases the blonde and pants. "Jeez, I thought Raven was a pain to get moving when she decides she doesn't want to go anywhere!"

"You look a lot like Yuuki Kouichirou." She freezes at a name she hasn't heard in almost fifteen years now, not since she and Yui woke up together in the hospital here in Mistral. Kneeling down, she looks Sarah in her blue eyes.

"How do you know my brother's name?" She asks quietly. 

"He was a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence. When the Titans say the Creator, they're talking about him." The girl replies confidently. 

Asuna nods as she smiles softly. "Good, he followed his passion." She replies as she stands and looks at Summer. "Let me go drag Cinder out of her father's office, and we'll get going."

"She's such a Daddy's girl." The rabbit faunus chuckles. 

"Remnant has been kind to Yui and I. It has blessed me with a good man for a husband and a daughter I adore." Asuna replies as she looks at Sarah. "And let me guess, I should be dead?"

The blonde pilot nods. "Uh huh."

"Well I should be, yes. But instead Yui and I found ourselves here instead." The former second in command and Lightning Flash replies as she and Sarah walk into the Huntsmen's Guildhall, this time Summer and Pyrrha trailing behind them. "That was oh, fifteen years ago now." She smiles at the memory of her joyful reunion with her eldest child, before they both began to scream at the fact that they were neither in Tokyo or Aincrad.

"Did three voices make you a deal too?" The blonde whispers quietly, making the woman stop in her tracks, a haunted look on her face.

"Summer, can you wrestle Cinny away from Alex, please? I think this little one and I need to talk."

"Uhhh, sure?" The huntress replies in confusion. "Everything ok?" She asks as she watches Asuna take her scroll out of her pocket.

"I just need to have a word with Sarah." She replies. "Good, Yui's at the mess hall. I won't need to track her down far." She begins to walk swiftly, the shorter girl struggling to keep up. Once they are out of hearing range for the rabbit faunus, she stops and looks at the Titan pilot sadly. "Yui. She made the bargain that brought us to Remnant. She did it to save my life, and I am grateful. But please, whatever happened to Kirigaya Kazuto?"

Sarah blinks in surprise. "Kirito? The Black Swordsman?" She asks in confusion as she takes a device out of her pocket and begins to scroll through it. "According to records, he almost died during the whole Underworld disaster. It set VR gaming back years." She informs the older woman. "He and his wife Sinon fought for years to get it going again."

"So he did get married? He moved on?" She asks with a sad smile as Yui walks up, the hilts to a pair of longswords on her slender hips.

"See? I told you he would, Mama." The young woman smiles at her before looking at Sarah. "You too?"

The girl nods. "They said they would save me, Mama, Jenna, and the TMM if we would come. That I would find my true calling here, and a family to call my own."

"Sounds about right." The raven haired girl replies with a nod, a grin on her face. "I'll never forget it myself…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_ "Yui…"  _ The voice calling to her awakens her from her slumber, deep inside her Daddy's Nervegear. She has slept since he saved her core personality and programming from CARDINAL's purge, awaiting the day she will be reunited with her parents. 

_ "Yui Kirigaya, your father and mother are in great danger…"  _ What?! No! She sacrificed herself to save them once! Strea is right, those two really are trouble magnets! No wonder she threw her lot in with Klein and his own guild!

_ "We can save them, but there is a price to pay." _ Name it! She will do anything for them! She has to save them, even though she's trapped! There has to be something she can do!

_ "You and your mother have a greater destiny than to languish away on a world that offers her nothing but a name, a world you will never be able to walk upon in their lifetime."  _ The first voice informs her.

_ "We offer you a chance to become real, as well as to save her life as well."  _ The second voice continues.  _ "We see her courage, her willingness to sacrifice herself for her love. It is no less than your own recent sacrifice." _

_ "What do you choose, child of Asuna's soul?" _ The third voice asks.

"Please! Save my mommy and daddy!" She begs, even as she looks around frantically for any way to escape. She has to go help!

_ "It is done."  _ The first voice declares as Asuna breaks free of the paralysis inflicted by Kayaba and darts towards the two fighters, throwing herself in between them just as the madman's sword decends on her husband's form, Kirito still trapped in Starburst Stream's cool down period.

_ "Close your eyes, child."  _ The second voice calls out soothingly.  _ "There is no need for you to watch this. You and your Mommy will be reunited on a new world, with a new purpose in life." _

_ "The Lightning Flash and the Child of the Morning Dew… Those names will no longer suit you."  _ The third voice declares in amusement.  _ "Come along, a Mountain awaits the two of you. He has agreed to sacrifice his own normal life, save one member of his family. One he will never part with, for she is his own chosen." _

Yui nods as a hand appears before her. "Goodbye, Daddy." She whispers as she takes the hand at the same moment Yuuki Asuna shatters in Kirito's arms, leaving Lambent Light behind. She can only hope her Mommy will forgive her…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"We woke up here in Mistral City, in the hospital." Yui smiles at Sarah, the two of them sitting in her own quarters now within the Guildhall. "Daddy Alex raised me as his own, and Cinny is my sister. Mom's worked with Summer Rose off and on for a few years now, ever since she and Raven took a few small contracts here, along with that big Wyvern one that almost got them killed."

"Wow." The blonde Titan pilot whispers. "Cinny must be who he wouldn't leave behind."

Yui nods, a small smile on his face. "Something about she's the daughter of his own soul or something. I never completely understood it myself, and it's been fifteen years now. I just know they're really close, and Mom adores them both." She suddenly giggles as Sarah pokes her gently in the stomach, her eyes wide.

"So wierd. You feel real to me." 

"I am real! Very real! I have a semblance and everything! I even have a boyfriend!" The woman's face turns red at the sudden memory of just what she and that same boyfriend had been doing in her quarters recently, away from prying eyes at Haven. Shaking her head, she sighs. "But Mom still misses a few people, and I miss my own virtual sister. Neither of us ever found out what happened to any of them from Keiko."

"Well it all depends on who. I do still have access to all of our own records, silly." Sarah singsongs with a grin, while taking a small tablet out of her messenger bag. Tapping the screen, she looks at her expectantly.

"Try MHCP-02, Strea." Yui asks quietly, her hands tightening on the hem of her skirt. "She was fighting with Klein's guild."

Her heart sinks as the little girl lowers the tablet without looking at it, sadness beginning to enter her eyes. "I'm sorry, but she was deleted. She died along with another player during the second big disaster."

"A second disaster?" The former program asks quietly, her heart already aching for her lost sister.

Sarah nods. "Sword Art: Origins. That was the next big nail in the coffin for VR gaming. It all started when Kirito and his sister Leafa encountered a girl they named Premier…"

Asuna listens quietly outside the door, Summer beside her and Cinder in her arms. Yui has never told her the entire story of how they came to be on Remnant, and now she understands why. She could hear the pain in her daughter's voice as she recounted her decision, and it's life altering consequences. 

"I'm so sorry, but according to records, Strea was deleted when a player named Lisbeth was killed. From what I read, the two of them along with another player named Zekken held off a badly glitched boss so their party could escape."

Asuna bursts into tears at the news that her best friend was dead as well. She had been surprised to encounter Rika in SAO, and the two of them had remained close throughout the entirety of the Death Game. Cinder whimpers as she hugs her, while Summer moves next to her to offer her own quiet support.

For the second time in her life, Asuna Yuuki mourns the loss of her friends, especially her best friend who gave her own life to save that blockhead Kazuto and the others…


	5. Titanfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya everyone! Wyn here with another exciting chapter of RWBYFall! It has some thrills, some chills, and some last minute excitement, so I hope everyone enjoys! Oh, and if you have Spotify, check out the new Square Enix chill out arrangements! For me, it's been a wonderful walk down memory lane!
> 
> (That's because your old, Wyn!)
> 
> Shut up! Anywho, I hope everyone enjoys, and I'll see you next time with a fresh chapter of the Heiress, the Princess, and the Two Immortals!

Flight Captain James "Jimmy" Schmitt considers himself a fairly easy going individual, despite being six feet, three inches tall, with a naturally stocky build and a face even his mother couldn't look at for too long before going to find his father to slap the taste out of his mouth. He has always considered his hands far too big, along with his feet, and his coordination outside the cockpit of his Widow transport is laughable. He even considers himself a coward by nature, and freely admits he's the last person you want watching your back in a bar fight.

But behind the controls of his Widow, both the IMC he betrayed, as well as the Militia he joined up with during the failed attempt to stop the fold device all agree that there is no one braver. He was the pilot who got Cooper's Vanguard BT to the IMS Draconis, and refused to abandon the pilot and his Titan even as they battled Viper in the skies over Typhon. And despite how they bicker, he and the awakened MRVN Moira are a solid and dependable flight team. 

Moira refused to abandon him while they tried to flee the destruction of Harmony, and they both woke up outside Mountain Glenn in Vale, Jimmy still at the controls, Moira still at her place by the door controls, and the Widow still flight worthy.

If anyone asks Moira why she stays with the human she considers a pest on a good day, she simply goes quiet before declaring that the big bloody idiot would just get his bollocks kicked without her. And Jimmy won't lift off without her on board, even in an emergency. They're a team, he tells people constantly, and you don't break up a team.

But now, Jimmy is piloting the Widow deep into the Anima sector of Mistral, with both Jack Cooper and Gabrielle Marder-Schnee on board. And to make it even better, the legendary Legion Prime Mama's on board with one of her girls, and they're being accompanied by Summer Fucking Rose and Keiko Ayano.

In his opinion, whatever they're after is fucked.

But he almost jumps out of his chair as Gabrielle suddenly sits next to him, a smile on her face as she checks their course. "Flight Captain Schmitt, correct?"

He nods as he keeps his eyes on the skies around them. He's had some trouble with griffons lately, who don't like something bigger than them in the air, and Sarah hasn't had time to check over the pair of hull mounted AA guns he had retrofitted to his Widow and see why they won't work quite right still. "Yes Ma'am, Commander." He replies formally. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No, I just needed a break. They're a bit loud back there, swapping huntsman stories and all." She admits as she takes her scroll out of an armored pocket and checks it. "And I wanted to check for any messages from my daughters."

"No offense ma'am, but never took you for the maternal type." He informs her quietly as he looks at her. "You weren't exactly the nicest of people back in ARES division."

"No I was not." She agrees as she sends a text message off. "I was a bitch."

Summer pokes her head in the cockpit. "Someone call me?"

"Uh no?" Jimmy replies in confusion.

"I did." Gabrielle snickers. "I said the word bitch."

"Ah ha! I knew I heard right!" Summer grins as she stays in the hatchway. "Jimmy, right?"

He nods as he keeps his eyes forward. "Yes ma'am, Huntress Rose."

"No need to be formal with me, Jimmy. Just Summer's fine." The rabbit faunus reassures him. 

"Pilot Schmitt, it's Gabrielle." The other woman adds. "I no longer hold my rank here, nor do I want to stand on any decorum either."

"Then it's Jimmy to you too, ma'am." He replies with a smile. "And we're less than fifteen out from Kuroyuri." 

"Thanks, Jimmy." Gabrielle smiles at him winningly, before turning her attention to Summer, who is staring out the forward viewport in wide eyed fascination. "Summer? Did Sarah make it to school today?"

"Her and Ruby fought me tooth and nail." The other woman admits as she grimaces. "Yang was the only one excited to be going."

Jimmy chuckles. "They sound like typical kids. Me? Did a few months in Signal Academy, but me and Moira took off when they refused to let me do any upgrades to her."

Summer looks at him oddly, her footlong ears wiggling. "That sounds odd. Any particular reason why?"

The pilot nods as he makes a slight course correction. "Moira may sound kinda human, and act like a mouthy bitch of one, but she can download anything she needs to know. But, those jerks in Vale wouldn't even let her near a computer to do it. Took a trip to Vacuo hauling medical supplies and a visit to a local electronics shop to get her onto the CCT network."

Gabrielle looks at him oddly. "They wouldn't allow you to upgrade her?"

He waves a hand over his console. "Notice anything different ma'am?"

"It looks fairly standard. Oh." The Titan pilot goes quiet. 

"Sounds like Sarah's got more work to do." Summer admits quietly.

_ "We'll pay, rabbit woman." _ Moira calls out from the hangar area.  _ "But we'll be needing the upgrades badly iffin we want to work for a living." _

"School comes first, Robo-babe." Jimmy calls out as he flips a switch, turning a yellow light on. "Ten minutes, folks. Get ready to drop."

"Thanks for that Jimmy, and I'll still let Sarah know. She's trying to pay for the rebuilding of the rest of her friends herself." Summer pats him on the shoulder before returning to the compartment to do her own final checks.

Gabrielle smiles. "Remind me to give you my scroll number. Jacques and I are always looking for excellent pilots, especially with the new CCT tower about to be built in Menagerie at our own expense." She informs him with a smile before leaving as well. 

_ "I'm thinking our luck's finally changing, Jimmy me love."  _ Moira whispers over their private comm channel.

"Yeah. Yeah I think so too." He admits with a wry smile as he begins to decelerate, stopping roughly a mile from the village that has recently been begging for help with their Grimm problem. "You guys ready?"

_ "Born ready!"  _ Jenna calls out.

_ "Time to launch the baddest bitch on the battlefield!"  _

"Moira! Launch 'em!"

_ "Fly, fatarse fly!" _

_ "Fuck off you purple and pink bitch!" _

"That's a lien in the jar!"

Jimmy watches as the Legion Prime and Tone Prime combat drop from the Widow, a smile on his face. Despite everything the two of them, human pilot and MRVN flight crew have done in the past few years, both of them have admitted to missing this. 

The two of them have admitted to each other that they've both missed the thrill of a perfectly executed in atmosphere Titanfall.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Mama moves forward confidently, like the bad ass bitch she is. She's survived battlefields that defeated entire armies, being blown to pieces, ripped in half, and even a planetary supervirus. 

BLP-1124 is the type of Titan that refuses to die, she has too many of her children relying on her to quit.

Embers, Jenna, BT, Frost, and so many others look up to her. They rely on her to guide them, protect them, and love them. She has been in mourning for them for five years now, and she's getting them back one at a time. She and Sarah are rebuilding the family they lost one Titan at a time.

And as they approach the village named Kuroyuri, she can now see the smoke rising from it. She's been around for 87 years now, and has seen this one too many times…

They're already too late.

"Holy Goddesses…" Summer breathes over comms, getting her full attention. She's standing by one ruined wall, staring into the devastated village in horror. "Raven and I were considering taking this job. But then Sarah and the Titans came…"

_ "The Creator be merciful on their souls."  _ Jenna adds as she sweeps her tracker cannon slowly. Many of the buildings are standing, but their roofs are gone, and there is blood everywhere, more red then black.

The lack of bodies is creepy to the veteran Legion, despite being warned about it by Summer, Raven, and now Coop. The Grimm don't just feast on emotions, but on the same emotions soaked bodies of their victims. And those are the lucky ones. The truly terrified, the truly fear stricken are simply taken, never to be seen alive again.

Only children are ever found alive, and orphanages in all the kingdoms are filled to bursting with the traumatized young survivors, which breaks her metaphoric heart even more.

"Damn, we were too late." Cooper swears as he sits in Monkey's seat, his hands gripping her controls tightly.

"Jenna, I'm releasing." Gabrielle calls out as she emerges from the Titan's armored pilot's compartment, a Wingman in hand. 

Summer starts to explore the village, her scythe in her hands as her nose twitches. "Hold on, I have a scent." She declares as she follows the invisible trail to a partially destroyed home. Looking under a raised porch, she smiled softly. "Hey you two, come on out, you're safe I promise."

"Survivors? Damn but they got lucky." Cooper admits as he and Mama both keep their heads and cores on a swivel. 

Gabrielle joins Summer, a smile on her own face as she holsters her hand cannon. "Nothing will harm either of you, I promise."

"No! It's still here!" A girl's voice screams in terror. "It's gonna kill us next!"

"What's still here?" The rabbit faunus asks calmly. "There's no Grimm still here."

That's when they all hear the sound. To Mama, it sounds like the engines of a Goblin combined with a loudspeaker and filtered through a bad horror movie director's worst nightmare. 

"The Nuckelavee…" A little boy's voice calls out in fear.

_ "Coop. Take the kids and the others and get out of here."  _ Mama orders as she sweeps her predator cannon slowly, her combat systems and radar searching for the beast.

"Mama, we all got this." Cooper replies as he sweeps his own gaze across the displays.

_ "This is personal."  _ The Titan replies quietly.  _ "Coop, I got this, ok? You guys get those kids out of here." _

There. Her sensors are screaming that something big's approaching. It's slower than Christmas, but all the better. Summer's busy trying to get those kids to come out with Gabrielle, and Jenna's covering them. And Coop's not her Monkey. He's not her baby that she's kept safe and as happy as she could for the past four years. And just the thought of two more kids orphaned by a monster is making her coolant boil red hot. So yeah, she's got this.

"Holy shit…" The pilot breathes out as The Nuckelavee appears and bellows again, this time in challenge. 

"Coop! I think this is about to be another one of those bit off more than we can chew type of situations!" Keiko yells over comms as she flies overhead and comes to a hover over Jenna.

_ "Coop, get out and get them out of here."  _ Mama orders again as she levels her cannon at the Grimm, who is advancing on them again.  _ "I got this!" _

"Shit!" The man declares as he jumps clear of the Legion Prime and runs towards the others. "Grab those kids and go!"

"What about Mama?!" Summer calls back as Gabrielle vanishes under the porch.

She starts to ignore them. She needs to focus on the task at hand, which is to bring down the demonic centaur in front of her. Opting for a quick finish approach, she opens fire, not surprised when the Grimm tanks every single round while it keeps advancing. It has to be feeding off the kids and their fear.

Oh she's got something to give this bastard nightmares.

But she's unprepared for the Nuckelavee's sudden charge, closing the distance between them rapidly as it lashes out with one giant clawed hand. She can't help but to grunt as she gets hammered into, her damage control systems screaming at her as it actually makes a dent in her heavy armor. A deep one. Dropping her predator cannon, which is now useless for this close of range combat, she grabs the buster sword she swiped from Dutchess and gets ready. 

The Nuckelavee swings at her again in another wide arc, this time from the opposite direction. But this time, she's ready.

Mama jettisons the missile racks she had retrofitted onto her by the Sobani, while drawing the Titan sized sword and swinging back herself. The Grimm, being lighter and more maneuverable than the heavyweight Titan hits her first, crushing more of her armor plating beneath it's massive clawed hand. But then she hits with all the force she can manage, the sword driven harder by all the weight she can put behind the return strike.

The Nuckelavee shrieks as she takes its right arm off, the severed end attached to the body seemingly withdrawing back into itself.

She can't stop now. She's downloaded sufficient information about Grimm to know they can eventually regenerate missing limbs, with the bigger, older, and stronger ones able to do it faster than the younger ones. And she's pretty sure, considering all the broken weapons sticking out of the beast, this one can regenerate fast. So instead of falling back to try to get more space to swing, she instead charges forward and tackles it down, inwardly satisfied at the crunching of its armor as she crushes it by pure weight.

_ The Nuckelavee is furious now. In its long life, it has never once been harmed. And now this odd metal creature has not just challenged it, but taken off one of its arms? It will pay! _

_ "SHIT!" _ The Legion Prime roars as she gets sent flying by the massive Grimm, which manages to get it's front legs on her chest plate and kicks her away to land heavily on the ground. Her damage control systems are screaming now, and her primary reactor is screaming that she's got a leak. Not good. And then she screams as the Nuckelavee stomps down on her exposed arm joint, shattering it easily.

The Nuckelavee cries out in triumph as it's cut off arm begins to regenerate, sensing it's inevitable victory at hand. But it's cry of victory turns into a shriek of pain as Mama suddenly drives the buster sword deeply into it, skewering it through both bodies.

_ "What's wrong you bitch?! Got rid of the wrong arm?!"  _ Mama roars as she tries to throw it off, screaming again as the struggling Grimm manages to use it's rear legs to hammer at her own, damaging one knee joint badly enough to end any of her own plans to get back up.

_ The Nuckelavee is in more pain than it has ever felt. It knows now it's dying, and it's determined to take its attacker with it as it keeps stomping with it's rear feet, while lashing out with it's arms, constantly striking the now crippled titan.  _

_ "Coop? Get going."  _ Mama orders over comms as she sets her self destruct sequence.  _ "And Summer, take care of our Monkey, will ya? Gonna be a while before I'm back on my feet." _

"Mama! What are you doing?!" Summer Rose calls back, the Widow coming overhead.

_ "Jimmy, just set my self destruct. You got 48 seconds to get the hell out of here!" _

"Copy that." The veteran pilot replies as the Widow begins to accelerate forward, not changing directions. "Godspeed Big Mama."

_ "The Creator smile upon ye, Mama. Surren he'll be rewarding you, love."  _ Moira adds.

"No wait! We can't leave her!" The rabbit faunus cries out.

"We don't have a choice! Summer, she's going to blow, and we don't want to be anywhere near here when she does!" Gabrielle replies. 

"Heavyweight Titans like Mama and Embers have massive power plants, Summer. When she blows, there's nothing that's going to be left!" Cooper adds hurriedly. "Jimmy, kick this pig dammit!"

"Coop, get out and push if you don't think this is fast enough!" The pilot yells back, the Widow already at a safe distance. With a chuckle, Mama shuts down all but one of her comms, turning her attention fully to her survivor. Jenna stood beside her for four long years, the Tone Prime never hesitating to throw herself into danger to help keep Sarah safe. She definitely needs to reassure her next youngest that she'll be fine.

_ "Jenna, stop yelling please. I can hear you." _

_ "Mommy? Please say you're backed up? Please?"  _ Jenna begs.  _ "I don't want you to die! Not after everything we already survived!" _

_ "I am, baby."  _ The heavyweight Titan reassures her. _ "Listen, take care of your sisters and brothers. Sarah and I been talking, and she knows what to do. Till I get back, you and BT are in charge, got it?"  _

_ "I got it. We got things from here, Mom."  _ Jenna replies sadly, the Titan turning away from the rapidly shrinking village that can still be seen out the aft viewports.

_ "I know you do." Mama _ chuckles.  _ "Love you." _

_ "Love you too. See you again." _

The Legion Prime known as Mama, who has seen more battlefields than any other Titan, who has outlived so many of her pilots, and who fell in love with a little blonde haired grease monkey that she has protected with her life shuts off her optic eye. She has faith that Sarah will be able to bring her back, and better than ever. But right now? Right now, the Nuckelavee needs to pay for destroying this village.

_ The Grimm grows silent, not having anything else to feed from. It has tried and failed to free itself, and by the way the metal creature has stopped moving, but with a growing whining sound coming from it, it knows it is doomed. The Nuckelavee closes its eyes as it accepts its own fate, having finally met its own match, as well as accepting it's final defeat... _

_ "Guess I got enough time for this."  _ The Legion Prime declares with satisfaction in her voice.  _ "Great Creator, bless me today as I sacrifice myself on this battlefield to save others. Even as I face my destruction, grant me one last moment of serenity as I sacrifice myself for my pilot, for my cause, and for the mission. Great Creator, find me worthy of returning to service with my pilot, so that I can continue to fight for a better future for my Sarah…" _

Everyone on board the Widow listens quietly to Mama's prayer right before she explodes, the Nuckelavee, Kuroyuri, and a chunk of the surrounding forest simply vanishing from the force of the detonating Titan, her mission complete, and her desire to protect her pilot despite her absence fulfilled…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Nora Valkyrie barely remembers her parents. They had died when she was five, and the next three years were honestly a blur as she lived alone in the wilds. She was good at stealing whatever she needed from whatever village she found herself at next, and she was never without an old, worn out forge hammer in hand to protect herself from Grimm and angry villager both.

But right now, she feels safe for the first time in three years in the arms of a silver eyed rabbit faunus woman. She can't really understand most of what the adults are talking about, and the giant metal person is kinda scary, but she feels safe with the faunus woman holding her, and that means everything to her. 

"Hey, you ok?" The woman smiles at her. It's a really pretty smile, and it makes her feel even safer, which is really important to her. So she nods as she smiles back. She understands it when people talk to her, but she's learned to be silent. People tend to not yell at her as much if she stays silent. A lesson she learned from her own parents first.

"Good. What's your name cutey?" A slight sliver of fear wells up again. If she tells this woman her last name, she may make her go away. Her father wasn't a nice man when he was alive, and her mother wasn't nice either. She's heard people talk about her parents as she goes from village to village, trying to find one where Norn and Frieya Valkyrie weren't heard of and still feared. So she shakes her head as she looks away.

"Do you want a cookie?" She looks up at the silver eyed woman again, her need to stay silent suddenly at war with her sweet tooth. Cookies and pancakes are her two favorite foods, and she finds them both hard to resist.

"Please?" She whispers softly, mindful of the manners her parents had beaten into her. And to her delight, she finds a chocolate chip cookie put in her hands.

"Eat up, cutey!" Summer smiles at her, making her smile again before taking a bite, then all but inhaling the circular treat. She looks back up at the woman, hoping she offers her another one.

"Goodness, I thought Ruby ate those too quickly!" A blonde woman laughs as the cat faunus woman of the adults keeps talking softly to the boy that protected her. He had been nice to her, which is rare. A lot of children tend to make fun of her and chase her away because of her hair, or her freckles, or because of how freakishly strong she already is. 

"Oh she gets that honestly." Silver eyes laughs again as she offers Nora another cookie, which she gobbles down greedily. "Slow down just a little bit, cutie. We don't want you to choke, ok?"

"Yes ma'am." She whispers as she shies away. There it is, as always she's gone too far, and she's probably going to be punished, or thrown off the flying ship they're all in, or squished by the big metal person like a bug.

"Hey, it's ok. It's ok." The rabbit faunus pulls her back into another hug, frowning when she notices that the girl is trembling in fear. "Shhhh, nothing to be afraid of, ok? I promise."

She nods as she keeps trembling. Her mother would have already slapped her and called her weak. Her father would already be making her carry a bucket of water around the camp, claiming it would make her stronger, make her more disciplined. Both of them would be calling her a weakling, and swearing to the rest of the tribe that their daughter will become stronger if they have to beat the weakness out of her.

"Please don't hit me." She whispers as she begins to panic, the memories of her strict, demanding parents beginning to overwhelm her. "Please, I promise to do better! I promise to be stronger!" She starts to shriek in terror.

But instead of hitting her, or casting her away, the rabbit faunus woman tightens her grip on the girl, hugging her closer. "No one is going to hit you. No one is going to do anything but hug you, ok cutey? Please calm down, please?" She keeps repeating herself as the boy rushes over and joins the hug as well, humming softly to try to soothe her as he did when his village was burning, and too full of Grimm for them to escape. They had fallen asleep underneath the porch where they hid, only to be found by the rabbit faunus and her friends. 

"Shhhh, it's ok. I promise it's ok. No one is going to hurt you. No one. I will never, ever let anyone hurt you ever again."

Nora starts to cry as she wraps her arms around the woman. Her hugs are warm, and make her feel so safe. It's been so long since she's felt any kind of affection that she doesn't even realize in her eight year old mind that she's starved for it. So she begins to wail as she clings to the rabbit faunus woman that is making her feel safe, along with the little boy who hid them even as his village died around them. She cries giant crocodile tears as she sobs and hiccups and keeps clinging to Summer Rose, who can't help but cry as she keeps hugging Nora Valkyrie back. 

Nora feels so safe now, so loved, so wanted. She's never felt like this before, and she never ever wants to let go of the rabbit faunus and the boy, ever. They make her feel like nothing bad has ever happened to her, ever…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Sarah?" Ruby calls out softly as she creeps into the hangar, worried for her new sister. She's been really quiet since Mama was destroyed a week ago, and she's barely been seen since. So she's worried. But what she wasn't expecting was for the blonde girl to be talking chipperly with BT and Embers, while a new titan and Jenna are taking up the construction and maintenance bays. 

"Ruby! Come here!" Sarah waves to her as she grins, prompting the rabbit faunus to dash over with a growing smile.

"Are you ok? Everyone's worried!" She declares as she reaches the young pilot, who smiles as she pulls her into a hug.

"I'm okie, Ruby." She whispers as she keeps her arms around the younger girl. "I just needed to think is all. I needed to decide what to do about Mama."

"Can you rebuild her?" She asks quietly as she looks at the construction bay. "I mean I know you miss her and all."

The taller girl nods. "She wants me to do a lot of different stuff with her next chassis, stuff I don't know how to do yet." She sighs as she looks at the new Titan being built. "So I'm rebuilding Ranger first to give me some time to think."

"Ranger?" Ruby asks curiously as she looks at the chassis. "What kind is he?"

"A Northstar Prime. They can fly with the right mods, and are great for long range covering fire." She explains. "And it gives me time to think about what to do about Mama."

_ "We are still here."  _ BT points out as Ruby squeezes her gently. 

"Yeah, we're here. And you said Mama's just sleeping, right?" Ruby adds as she smiles brilliantly. 

_ "Yeah, Mom's calling it her way past due vacation."  _ Embers chuckles as she swipes a smile under her core. 

"It might be a while before I rebuild her." Sarah points out to them. "I really don't know how to do some of the stuff she wants me to do."

_ "Then take your time, Sarah."  _ Ranger declares from his place in the box.  _ "We all will stand in for her. We all will be sure you grow up happy, safe, and loved." _

Ruby nods as she hugs the blonde girl fiercely. "And we love you too!"

Sarah smiles down at the little rabbit girl in her arms. "I know Ruby. Come on, let's get back to the house. I need a cookie."

"Good luck, Nora ate them all!" She whines as she pouts. "And she's living with us now too!"

The youngest Titan pilot giggles. "Let me get Ruby home, guys. I have some cookies hidden in my room." She informs the faunus girl, who squeals in delight as she starts to drag the older girl behind her. "Bye guys!"

Once they are out of sight, Embers and BT turn to look at the TMM.

_ "Pilot Bogard is in good hands with us, Mom. Don't worry for her."  _ BT declares with a salute. 

Embers nods her core as she joins the salute.  _ "Get some rest Mom. We'll see you when we see you, ok?" _

_ "Yeah Mom, we got the Grease Monkey now."  _ Jenna adds as a manipulator arm rises to salute for her.  _ "We won't let you down!" _

_ "I won't fall again, Mom. I promise."  _ Ranger adds quietly.

Summer Rose smiles as she stands at the human sized door to the hangar. "I have her from here, Mama. You did a great job, all I need to do now is get her to adulthood." She whispers before wiping a few tears away. "See you again…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

-Afterword: Anger, Hate, an Elder Golden Dragon, and the Apex of Predators-

David Ozpin stalks through the corridors of Beacon Academy in a killing rage. Once again, the interlopers have disrupted another one of his long term plans, and his fury is evident in his long strides, in the way his cane strikes the marble floor with such force each stone is cracked, and especially in the malevolent gleam in his eyes. Eyes that promise pain to any who run afoul of him.

Once again, one of Salem's precious Unique Grimm has fallen, and she is going to pay dearly in her failure's place.

Neither of the guards hesitate to open the door to the chamber which houses both the sole relic he has managed to maintain under his control, but also the fallen Queen of the Grimm whom he brought to heel years ago, after breaking her in spirit. Granted, his plans were almost derailed once, almost six years ago by a particularly foolish former student of his, but even he has been brought to heel, even if he is barely contained alongside other prisoners that are a threat to him, his allies, and especially his plans.

Taiyang Xiao Long has become one of Salem's human protectors, and the mighty Dragon of Mistral is a thorn in his side he must deal with sooner or later.

Stopping before a wall of rune covered bars, he looks about in his rage until he spots her cowering behind the last of the Twelve, the thrice cursed Hound herself. The beast has sworn to stop him from usurping her father's power, even if it meant allying herself with his damned ex wife. The ancient Grimm is the last of the children of Behemoth, as well as his least loyal, but even she knows well the danger of what will happen if the Headmaster of Beacon destroys her hated parent. 

Reality itself would be doomed if Ozma gains the powers of the only mage greater than himself.

Focus. The bitch is growling in her rage and hatred, and Salem is sobbing in her terror, thus increasing her strength. The Hound is a survivor, even among the Grimm, and the two of them have had many an explosive clash over the centuries, the lifetimes, even the different lives in which he has been thwarted time and again.

"Oh do be silent, Salem." He finally declares, even as his glare moves from the Grimm to the woman behind her. "The Nuckelavee has once again failed. Summer Rose still lives."

The Queen of the Grimm stops her screaming to look at him with cold, calculating eyes. Standing up, the Hound genuflects to her as she moves forward to the bars, a smirk now on her face. "What a pity, Ozma. Tell me, who slew the beast this time? Was it Summer herself, or perhaps Raven?"

"Why do you continue to resist me?!" He snarls back, his rage growing as he once again realizes that he has fallen for her weak act once more, while ignoring the fact that she is baiting him. 

"Because I find it ever so satisfying to see you so upset and flustered, David. That is your name these days, correct?" She replies in a sultry fashion as she looks at him with false adoration. "Much like I once enjoyed our long, heartfelt nights full of lovemaking." He can feel his blood beginning to boil as the look on her face turns from one of lust and longing to scorn. "Well, you did. It unfortunately took me several long centuries to find a man who could actually bring me to orgasm. And he does such a delightful job of it as well! Will you do me a favor and put me back in his cell when you get done feeling inadequate?"

Ozpin roars as he loses his temper, his arms reaching between the bars separating the ancient magus and his hated ex wife. Arms that are grabbed a moment later with hands that seem to be made of pure adamantine. His roar of rage turns into screams of pain as his head is brought violently into the bars, Taiyang Xiao Long roaring in his own rage.

"BASTARD! THIS TIME I'LL KILL YOU!" The blonde martial artist roars in his fury and hatred for the man who imprisoned him, even as he pulls Ozpin forcefully into the bars once again. His final thought as he watches the bars come towards him, as his ears continue to be filled with his former student's rage filled roars is that he must learn to control his temper around his ex…

/\/\/\/\

"Tai! Tai, stop! He's dead!" It takes the blonde a moment to calm himself enough to realize that Salem is pulling at one of his arms, the Hound on another. Blinking, he realizes that he has almost ripped Ozpin in half now, blood and viscera covering the now darkened bars of their prison.

_ "You both must flee…"  _ The Hound adds quietly as she releases the blonde haired man.  _ "Death is no obstacle to him…" _

"But…"

"Tai." Salem sighs as she looks at him, Ozpin's cane in her pale hands. "Once, in a far different life, he was a good man. Many proudly called him their friend, and I loved him deeply. But then he lost his way, and his anger over a perceived wrong has driven him ever since."

_ "Even my father fears him, and he normally only fears the ones that the Goddesses Three call their chosen."  _ The Grimm adds as she begins to bend the heavy metal bars with ease.  _ "He cannot be allowed to continue on this course of destruction, else all of reality is in even more danger than just from my father's darkness." _

"We must go. He will never forgive you, not as he is now. He will seek you out, and destroy you in vengeance." He blinks as she begins to pull him along, Ozpin's cane now in her free hand as the Hound moves ahead of them both.

"But my wife, my child…"

"Will be in even greater peril if you return to them." The immortal woman points out as she stops and looks at him, her scleral eyes seemingly boring holes into his lilac orbs. "Tai, I am eternal. I cannot die save under very specific circumstances. Circumstances that only the chosen of the Eternal Light and Her Dark Majesty will know by instinct. But, so is Ozma. And his version of immortality comes with a horrific price." She sighs as she looks back at the horrifying scene of murder, a tear of pure darkness rolling down one alabaster cheek. "This is not what I wanted. I simply wanted to save my kingdom, my children. Instead, I fell into a trap more terrible than the threat we faced."

"Salem…" Taiyang sighs as he uses a thumb to wipe the tear away. "Then where do we go? You said it yourself, the dark continent isn't safe for you or anyone, not with Behemoth's prison losing strength."

"There are a few places left that neither his abominations or Ozma have a hold. Free territories where even one such as I can walk without being molested or even glanced at." To his surprise, she offers him a hand as she smiles confidently. "Shall we all flee now, after we free the rest of his prisoners? Before that miserable pest Qrow or that arrogant bastard Gabriel come searching for him?" 

But to her surprise, he shakes his head as he walks towards another set of bars and peers into them. "Hey, still alive Blisk?"

"About bloody time that bastard got his." The mercenary grumbles as he stands and walks forward from a small table, while a giant red eye winks to life behind him. 

_ "Indeed. Kuben, my combat systems are released from his override."  _ A deep, almost menacing voice declares as the sound of servos are heard.  _ "Shall I go ahead and free us from this cell?" _

"Hold up, Omen. Got a nasty feeling Tai's about to propose a stupid fucking idea." The man declares while holding up a hand.

Tai nods as he looks from Salem to the Hound, who is waiting next to the woman. "You, your troops, and your giant tinker toys take Salem to one of these outside kingdoms. Me and the Hound'll lead Qrow on a merry chase all over creation." He looks at the mercenary leader as he motions to more cells that are further down the giant chamber. "You and your Apex Predators have the numbers and the firepower to keep her and the staff safe. Me? Qrow hates me enough to chase me to the farthest corners of Atlas to kill me."

"Oh, and why's that, mate?" The other man asks as a massive jet black Legion appears behind him, his hands flexing slowly.

"I had a kid with his sister, then lied to him about it." The blonde informs him with a grin.

Blisk snorts as he motions for Omen to come forward. "You love to live dangerously, don't you, Tai? That takes some balls. But hell man, don't you want to see them again?"

"No. I still love Raven, and I want to see Yang, but if staying away keeps them safe, then so be it." The dragon declares firmly as the Hound moves to his side, while the remaining members of the legendary mercenary group begin to release themselves from their own cells and surround Salem protectively. 

Kuben Blisk nods as Omen reaches over him and begins to pull the bars to their own cell apart. "Fair enough then, mate. I can respect that. No money in it, but then again…" His voice drifts off as he looks at Salem, who blushes as she turns away. "Maybe it's time for me to remember what the right bloody thing to do is."

"Blisk, we're ready." A cloaked woman calls out, a Ronin standing behind her. Her face gives the appearance of a porcelain mask, while she uses one robotic hand to adjust the hem of her cowl. "My own systems are completely free as well. Tai must have destroyed Gabriel's lockout."

"Get ready to move out, Ash. And Tai?" The seasoned mercenary holds a hand out to the Huntsmen, which he takes firmly. "Good luck, Mate. Give Bird Boy hell."

"Good luck, Blisk. The Goddesses Three watch over you." Tai declares as he looks at the Hound. "Ready?"

_ "Come… The Bird Man will have fun following us…"  _ The Grimm smiles evily as she begins to move forward once more, the Dragon of Mistral at her side and what could be their final mission before them both...


End file.
